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"PRINCIPALITIES    AND    POWERS 


IN 


HEAVENLY  PLACES." 


"PRINCIPALITIES  AND  POWERS 


HEAVENLY   PLACES." 


CHARLOTTE  ELIZABETH. 
ij 


A^^^J^gm^  T I O  N , 

[W^SftSITY, 
&JF0E$^ 


REV.  EDWAI 


1RSTETH. 


NEW    YORK: 

PUBLISHED    BY    JOHN    S.    TAYLOR    &    CO. 

AT  THE  NEW  YORK  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  AND  JUVENILE  BOOK  DEPOSITORY, 

Brick  Church  Chapel,  No.  145  Nassau  st. 

1844. 


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*, 

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TO  THE  INTENT  THAT  NOW  UNTO  THE  PRINCIPALITIES 
AND  POWERS  IN  HEAVENLY  PLACES  MIGHT  BE  KNOWN 
BY    THE    CHURCH    THE     MANIFOLD    WISDOM    OF    GOD. 

Ephes.  iii.  10. 

WE  WRESTLE  NOT  AGAINST  FLESH  AND  BLOOD,  BUT 
AGAINST  PRINCIPALITIES,  AGAINST  POWERS,  AGAINST 
THE  RULERS  OF  THE  DARKNESS  OF  THIS  WORLD, 
AGAINST   SPIRITUAL    WICKEDNESS    IN    HIGH    PLACES. 

Ephes.  vi.  12. 

HAVING  SPOILED  PRINCIPALITIES  AND  POWERS,  HE  MADE 
A    SHOW   OF    THEM    OPENLY,  TRIUMPHING  OVER  THEM. 

— Colossians  ii.  15. 


CONTENTS, 


PART    I. 

OF    EVIL    SPIRITS. 

Page 

Section  1. — Their  Existence  and  Character,  .     .     13 
II. — The  Power  and  Employment  of  Evil 

Spirits, 22 

III. — Satanic  Daring, 34 

IV. — Satanic  Cunning, 46 

V.— Satanic  Cruelty, 58 

VI. — Satanic  Activity, 72 

VII. — Satanic  Knowledge, 81 

VIII.— The  Limit  of  Satanic  Power,      .     .     89 

IX. — Satanic  Wrath  as  the  end  draws  nigh,  102 

X. — The  Doom  of  Satan  and  his  Angels,  119 


VU1  CONTENTS. 

PART    II. 

OF    THE    HOLY    ANGELS. 

Pass 

Section  I. — Their  Existence  and  Character,      .     129 
II. — Angelic  Knowledge  and  Power,      .     136 

III. — Angelic  Obedience, 150 

IV. — Angelic  Ministry, 162 

V. — Angelic  Sympathy, 180 

VI. — Angelic  Interest  in  the  Jewish  People,  200 

VII.— Christ  Seen  of  Angels,     ....     217 

VIII. — The  Apostles  a  Spectacle  to  Angels,  238 

IX. — Angelic  Ministrations  in  the  last  days,  250 

X. — Angelic  Triumph, 265 

CONCLUSION. 

Christ  the  King  of  Angels, 282 


INTRODUCTORY    REMARKS. 


I  have  great  pleasure  in  complying  with  a  request  to 
prefix  a  few  introductory  words  to  this  work.  I  think 
it  scriptural,  seasonable,  and  practical.  No  part  of 
divine  truth  can  be  neglected  without  spiritual  loss, 
and  it  is  too  evident  that  the  deep  and  mysterious  doc- 
trine of  Revelation  respecting  evil  spirits  and  good 
angels,  has  been  far  too  much  disregarded  in  our  age. 
This  has  arisen,  on  the  one  hand,  from  the  wide  spread 
of  infidel  principles,  and  on  the  other  from  the  unscrip- 
tural,  idolatrous,  extravagant  attention  paid  to  this  sub- 
ject in  the  Church  of  Rome,  in  which  the  good  angels 
are  worshiped,  and  the  evil  spirits  brought  forward  to 
foster  delusions.  But  we  gain  no  solid  victory  over 
Popery,  by  omitting  the  truths  which  have  been  cor- 
rupted and  abused.     Our  duty  is  rather  to  take  forth 


X  INTRODUCTORY    REMARKS. 

the  precious  from  the  vile,  and  hold  fast  the  simple  and 
plain  truth  revealed  for  us  and  our  children ;  thus  shall 
we  be  as  God's  mouth  to  his  people.     Jer.  xv.  10. 

The  friend  who  wrote  this  work  has  been  careful 
not  to  go  beyond  the  divine  record,  and  to  rest  every- 
thing here  stated  on  her  own  personal  investigation  of 
the  words  of  the  Most  High.  The  reader  will  find  it 
an  edifying  and  appropriate  work,  bringing  out  plainly 
and  perspicuously  the  scriptural  testimony  on  the  sub- 
ject on  which  it  treats ;  and  I  believe  it  to  be  specially 
suited  to  meet  a  want  actually  existing  in  the  Church 
of  Christ  at  this  time. 

There  is  an  advantage  in  some  respects  in  one 
mind,  simply  drawing  its  sentiments  and  conclusions 
from  the  Scriptures  only,  without  the  aid  of  any  other 
mind ;  and  this  advantage  the  reader  will  have  in  this 
work.  It  gives  not  that  fulness  of  truth  which  the 
communion  of  many  minds  gives,  but  we  obtain  by 
it  more  of  the  simplicity  and  plainness  of  the  Scripture 
testimony. 

Looking  at  the  signs  of  the  times,  and  the  long  neg- 
lect and  unnatural  denial  of  all  angelic  ministration  or 
spiritual  influence,  and  at  the  express  predictions  of 


INTRODUCTORY    REMARKS.  XI 

false  Christs  and  false  prophets,  who  shall  show  signs 
and  wonders,  insomuch  that  if  it  were  possible  they 
should  deceive  the  very  elect,  and  that  when  men  re- 
ceive not  the  love  of  the  truth  that  they  might  be  saved, 
for  this  cause  God  shall  send  them  strong  delusion  that 
they  should  believe  a  lie,  I  cannot  but  think  there  is  a 
painful  prospect  of  a  sudden  recoil  and  religious  revul- 
sion from  the  present  unbelief  and  misbelief,  to  an  un- 
natural and  undistinguishing  credulity,  when  Anti- 
Christ  shall  appear  in  his  latest  form,  "  with  signs  and 
lying  wonders."  I  would  therefore  leave  an  earnest 
caution  on  the  minds  of  my  readers — Beloved,  believe 
not  every  spirit,  but  try  the  spirits,  whether  they  are  of 
God.  The  Scriptures  have  forewarned  us  beforehand, 
that  we  may  not  be  led  away  with  the  error  of  the  wicked 
and  fall  from  our  own  steadfastness. 

My  hope  is  that  this  work  may  tend  much  to  in- 
crease the  watchfulness,  call  forth  the  prayers,  strength- 
en the  faith,  enliven  the  hopes,  and  cheer  the  hearts  of 
Christians,  contending  with  our  mighty  spiritual  ene- 
mies, and  succoured  by  those  yet  mightier  angels  who 
are  ministering  spirits  to  the  heirs  of  salvation.  In  the 
increasing  intenseness  of  the  conflict,  we  shall  proba- 


XII  INTRODUCTORY   REMARKS. 

bly  soon  more  urgently  need  every  aid  of  this  kind. 

May  it  please  God  thus  to  assist  many  in  attaining  that 

final  victory  which  is  sure  to  every  faithful  follower 

of  Christ,  for  p.*  He  that  is  in  us  is  stronger  than  he  that 

is  in  the  world." 

Edward  Bickersteth. 

Watton  Herts,  July  19, 1842. 


PART  I 

OF    EVIL    SPIRITS 


SECTION    I. THEIR    EXISTENCE  AND    CHARACTER, 

The  eternal  power  and  godhead  of  the  Most  High,  are, 
as  St.  Paul  tells  us,  invisible  things,  yet  clearly  seen 
and  to  be  understood  even  of  the  heathen,  by  those 
things  which  he  hath  made.  Rom.  i.  20.  The  order  and 
harmony  of  creation,  the  wonderful  manner  in  which 
all  things  are  upheld,  preserved,  perpetuated,  or  re- 
produced, appeal  to  the  natural  reason  and  conscience 
of  man,  bespeaking  some  mighty,  creative,  over-ruling 
hand,  directed  by  a  wisdom  and  knowledge  to  which 
no  mortal  may  attain.  And  this  recognition  is  all  but 
universal.  However  false,  however  distorted,  however 
debased  by  the  most  wretched  folly,  superstition  and 
crime,  we  find  the  principle  of  Deism  in  some  form 
established  throughout  the  world. 

But  beyond  this,  man  cannot  go ;  he  sees  that  God 
is  powerful,  and  if  the  desperate  wickedness  of  his  own 
2 


14  OF  EVIL  spirits: 

heart  did  not  blind  it,  he  must  also  perceive  that  God 
is  good ;  giving  us  rain  and  fruitful  seasons,  filling  our 
hearts  with  food  and  gladness,  clothing  the  earth  with 
refreshing  verdure  ;  decking  it  with  myriads  of  glowing 
flowers  ;  bestowing  on  the  birds  their  soft  and  graceful 
plumage,  bright  in  lovely  dyes,  and  teaching  them  to 
breathe  forth  music  from  their  cheerful  throats :  caus- 
ing the  moon  to  walk  in  brightness,  the  stars  to  spangle 
heaven,  and  peopling  even  the  little  brooks  that  run 
among  the  hills  with  unnumbered  forms  of  beauty  that 
sport  in  the  pure  element.  So  far,  man  may  recognise 
God,  may  love,  fear,  and  praise  him. 

But  beyond  this  we  have  no  means  of  penetrating ; 
our  bodily  organs  appear  to  be  the  sole  medium  of  com- 
munication with  what  exists.  What  we  can  see,  hear, 
feel,  smell,  or  taste,  is  matter  of  observance,  affording 
evidence  on  which  the  mind  may  rely,  and  from  it  we 
may  reason  or  conjecture  to  any  extent,  but  can  know 
nothing  to  bring  us  acquainted  with  what  lies  beyond 
the  range  of  our  senses,  we  need  a  special  revelation 
from  Him  who  governs  all,  and  this  revelation  we  pos- 
sess. Between  the  two  covers  of  a  book  that  a  child 
may  grasp,  we  find  all  that  is  needful  or  profitable  for 
us  to  know  of  the  nature,  attribute,  and  works  of  the 
Almighty,  of  his  power  in  creation,  his  love  in  redemp- 
tion, his  past  dealings  with  the  world,  and  his  future 
purposes  respecting  it.  By  the  comparatively  dim  twi- 
light of  his  works  we  may  feel  after,  and  haply  find 
him,  as  the  all-presiding  governor  of  the  world  which 
he  has  made :  in  the  bright  blaze  of  his  word  we  be- 
hold him  distinctly  ;  and  not  only  Him,  but  a  race  of 


THEIR   EXISTENCE  AND    CHARACTER.  15 

intermediate  beings,  different  from  ourselves  in  that 
they  are  not  burdened  with  flesh,  possessed  of  facul- 
ties and  powers  that  give  them  a  vast  advantage  over 
us,  and  deeply  interested,  busily  employed  about  us 
who  are  naturally  wholly  regardless,  even  when  not 
wholly  ignorant  concerning  them. 

Of  these  mysterious  beings  we  know  the  number  is 
immensely  great ;  and  that  they  are  divided  into  two 
classes  :  the  "  elect  angels,"  "  holy  angels,"  who  are 
God's  obedient  ministers  and  do  his  pleasure ;  and 
"  the  angels  which  kept  not  their  first  estate,  but  left 
their  own  habitation,"  (Jude  6,)  who  are  rebels  against 
God,  and  implacable  enemies  to  man.  These  last  are 
marshalled  under  one  superior  chief,  who  directs  their 
operations,  and  maintains,  with  their  assistance,  a  king- 
dom upon  earth,  directly  opposed  to  the  government  of 
Christ  the  rightful  King.  To  support  by  every  possible 
means,  to  extend  and  to  strengthen  this  usurped  do- 
minion, to  seduce  all  whom  he  can,  to  terrify  others, 
and  to  thwart,  harass,  and  distress  every  child  of  God 
while  sojourning  here,  is  the  object  of  the  adversary. 
His  very  name,  Satan,  expresses  it ;  and  the  superior 
power  which  as  a  spirit  he  possesses,  becomes  effectual 
in  carrying  out  his  most  malevolent  designs,  when- 
ever the  omnipotence  of  God  does  not  interpose  to  re- 
strain it. 

But  assertion,  on  a  subject  of  such  tremendous  mo- 
ment to  every  individual  of  the  human  race,  will  not 
suffice  :  we  must  have  proof — such  proof  as  God  alone 
can  afford  us  means  of  obtaining  ;  and  which  where  it 
exists  he  must  also  enable  us  to  perceive,  for  the  policy 


16  OF   EVIL    SPIRITS  : 

of  Satan  is  wholly  opposed  to  the  inquiry.  There  is 
nothing  he  dreads  so  much  as  our  being  "  not  ignorant 
of  his  devices,"  because  he  knows  that  where  it  is  re- 
vealed to  us,  "  We  wrestle  not  against  flesh  and  blood, 
but  against  principalities,  against  powers,  against  the 
rulers  of  the  darkness  of  this  world,  against  wicked 
spirits  in  high  places."  Eph.  vi.  12.  In  the  preceding 
verse  we  are  also  told  of  a  sure  defence,  and  exhorted 
"  Put  on  the  whole  armour  of  God,  that  ye  may  be  able 
to  stand  against  the  wiles  of  the  Devil."  And  despite 
the  express  declarations  of  God's  word,  despite  its  reit- 
erated warnings,  despite  even  our  own  sore  personal 
experience  of  his  craft  and  subtlety,  we  are  prone  to 
overlook  not  only  such  testimony  to  his  continual  ac- 
tivity and  abundant  means  of  warning  against  us,  but 
the  very  fact  of  his  existence,  so  far  as  it  concerns  the 
daily  experience,  collectively  and  individually,  of  the 
Church  of  Christ. 

Strange  as  this  may  sound,  it  is  undeniable :  we 
cannot  marvel  that  where  Satan,  "  the  god  of  this  world, 
hath  blinded  the  minds  of  them  which  believe  not,  lest 
the  light  of  the  glorious  gospel  of  Christ,  who  is  the 
image  of  God,  should  shine  unto  them,"  (2  Cor.  iv.  4,) 
he  should  have  taken  care  also  to  blind  them  to  his  own 
devices;  that  he  should  have  stealthily  thrown  the 
bandage  across  their  eyes  from  behind,  so  that  they 
know  not  the  hand  which  performed  the  operation, 
not  even  that  such  operation  is  performed ;  but  it  is 
wonderful  that  he  can  prevail  upon  Christian  people  to 
banish  his  name,  as  they  generally  do,  from  their  daily 
converse,  and  Christian  pastors  to  make  only,  now  ancJ 


THEIR   EXISTENCE    AND    CHARACTER.  17 

then,  a  slight  incidental  reference  to  it  in  the  pulpit ; 
and  in  these  days,  too,  while  in  every  department  of 
our  households,  in  every  street  of  our  cities,  in  Church 
and  State,  in  cottage  and  palace,  at  home  and  abroad, 
he  is  incessantly  manifesting  his  hateful  presence,  per- 
plexing, seducing,  embroiling,  dismaying,  uprooting, 
and  disorganizing,  till  the  whole  framework  of  society 
is  loosened,  and  ready  upon  the  first  shock  to  crumble 
about  us. 

It  cannot  be  unseasonable,  at  any  period,  far  less  at 
this  juncture,  to  draw  the  attention  of  Christians  to  a 
point  which  God  has  seen  fit  to  represent  as  of  the  most 
stirring,  vital  importance  to  them.  The  warning  needs 
to  be  often  sounded,  "  Be  sober,  be  vigilant,  because 
your  adversary,  the  devil,  as  a  roaring  lion,  walketh 
about,  seeking  whom  he  may  devour."  1  Peter  v.  8. 
But  in  treating  of  a  matter  so  exceedingly  solemn  and 
awful,  care  must  be  taken  not  to  run  into  the  opposite 
danger  of  saying  too  much.  We  must  "  not  go  beyond 
the  word  of  the  Lord  to  speak  more  nor  less."  Great 
mischief  has  been  done,  and  by  great  men  too,  by  in- 
dulging imagination  and  building  unreal  fabrics  on  the 
solid  foundation  of  the  revealed  fact.  Scripture  alone 
must  speak,  in  declaring  the  existence,  personality, 
characters,  offices,  and  positive  actings  of  those  spirit- 
ual creatures,  which  constantly  surround  us,  beginning 
with  Satan  and  his  angels.  May  He,  who  by  death 
destroyed  him  that  had  the  power  of  death;  He,  the 
seed  of  the  woman,  who  came  to  bruise  the  serpent's 
head;  He,  who  led  captivity  captive,  and  who  will 
bruise  Satan  under  our  feet  shortly  :  may  He,  even  the 
2* 


18  OF  evil  spirits: 

Lord  Jesus  Christ,  bless  this  humble  attempt,  preserv- 
ing both  the  writer  and  the  reader  from  all  presump- 
tuous sin  ! 

Before  proceeding  to  examine  the  truth  concerning 
Satan,  we  must  notice  the  false  impressions  current 
both  as  to  his  person  and  employment.  We  are  taught 
from  the  nursery  to  regard  him  as  a  hideous,  disgust- 
ing, and  almost  ludicrously  contemptible  object.  A 
black,  mis-shapen,  half-human  body,  with  limbs  and 
other  appendages  belonging  to  various  classes  of  ani- 
mals, an  excessively  frightful,  grinning  face ;  and,  in 
short,  a  preposterous  compound  of  all  that  is  ugly  and 
incongruous,  supply  the  general  idea  of  the  "  Prince 
of  this  world."  This  fabulous  image  bears  the  marks 
of  his  own  creation,  for  it  is  calculated  to  throw  us  off 
our  guard  by  masking  his  real  importance,  so  that  we 
grow  up  ashamed  of  having  once  been  frightened  by 
these  pictures  of  the  devil,  and  count  it  a  mark  of  ma- 
tured reason  to  laugh  at  the  hobgoblin  of  our  childhood. 
His  name,  too,  is  linked  with  mean  and  ridiculous  as- 
sociations ;  it  is  denounced  as  a  vulgarism,  and  when 
plainly  uttered  in  conversation  with  reference  to  his 
works,  a  smile  of  levity,  if  not  a  grave  reproof,  usually 
awaits  the  offender.  A  variety  of  nicknames  have 
been  applied  to  him,  the  substitution  of  which,  for  his 
scriptural  title,  is  considered  as  showing  greater  respect 
for  the  auditors,  and  greater  refinement  in  the  speaker  ; 
and  he  has  been  so  identified  with  the  most  flippant; 
most  trifling  or  profane  forms  of  speech,  even  among 
polished  gentlemen,  that  one  of  the  hardest  tasks  the 
awakened  Christian  has  to  encounter  is,  to  disconnect 


THEIR   EXISTENCE    AND   CHARACTER.  19 

the  name  of  the  devil  from  such  associations,  and  to 
dissuade  others  so  offending. 

As  regards  his  works,  a  still  more  dangerous  mistake 
seems  to  prevail :  he  is  looked  on  by  the  professing 
world  in  general  as  little  more  than  a  chimerical  per- 
sonage ;  one  who,  when  our  Lord  was  on  earth,  proved 
busy,  and  troublesome  to  him,  but  who  is  mostly  in 
hell,  tormenting  such  as  he  has  got  into  his  power, 
and  rarely,  if  ever,  interfering  with  the  course  of  this 
world.     Sometimes    the  most   petty   annoyances   and 
vexatious  little  mistakes  are  referred  to  his  mischiev- 
ous arrangements,  but  more  through  momentary  petu- 
lance than  any  sober  conviction ;  at  other  times  he  is 
represented  as  presiding  where  very  extensive  injury 
is  done,  perhaps  directing  the  campaigns  of  a  Napo- 
leon, or  baffling  some  scheme  of  universal  philanthropy. 
But  to  regard  him  as  systematically  busying  himself 
in  the  concerns  of  individuals,  more  particularly  as  in- 
fluencing, by  his  artful  suggestion,  their  words   and 
deeds,  is   looked  on  as  most  childishly  superstitious. 
Nay,  even  among  spiritual  persons  there  is  a  lurking 
unbelief  on  this  subject,  which  gives  the  enemy  many 
an  advantage  over  them.      They  are  loth  to  believe 
that  when   engaged  in  promoting  a  good  work,  Satan 
is  at  their  right  hand  resisting  them :  that,  by  his  whis- 
pered suggestions,  their  humility  is  often  depressed  in- 
to cowardice,  their  zeal    quickened  to  rashness,  their 
confidence  urged  on  to  presumption,    and  their  pru- 
dence chilled  with  unbelief.     In  whatsoever  quality 
the  Lord  has  enabled  them  to  excel,  that  very  excel- 
lence Satan  will  weave  a  snare  for  their  feet ;  and  the 


20  OF    EVIL    SPIRITS  l 

snare  once  laid,  he  has  abundant  agencies  at  work  to 
draw,  or  drive  them  into  it.  Theoretically,  perhaps, 
this  is  not  denied,  but  point  out  a  living  instance  of 
such  delusion,  and  you  are  presently  reproved  or 
frowned  into  silence. 

The  following  direct  testimonies  from  the  scriptures 
to  the  existence  and  character  of  evil  spirits,  of  whom 
one  distinct  chief  or  leader  controls  a  number  of  sub- 
ordinate devils,  will  establish  our  first  point : — 

"  And  the  great  dragon  was  cast  out,  that  old  ser- 
pent, called  the  Devil,  and  Satan,  which  deceiveth  the 
whole  world :  he  was  cast  out  into  the  earth,  and  his 
angels  were  cast  out  with  him."  Rev.  xii.  9. 

"  Ye  are  of  your  father  the  devil,  and  the  lusts  of 
your  father  ye  will  do.  He  was  a  murderer  from  the 
beginning,  and  abode  not  in  the  truth,  because  there  is 
no  truth  in  him.  When  he  speaketh  a  lie,  he  speaketh 
of  his  own  :  for  he  is  a  liar,  and  the  father  of  it."  John 
viii.  44. 

"  But  some  of  them  said,  He  casteth  out  devils 
through  Beelzebub  the  chiefof  the  devils."  Luke  xi.  15. 

"If  Satan  be  divided  against  himself,  how  shall  his 
kingdom  stand  ?  because  ye  say  that  I  cast  out  devils 
through  Beelzebub."  v.  18. 

"  Thou  believest  that  there  is  one  God ;  thou  doest 
well;  the  devils  also  believe  and  tremble."  James 
ii.  19. 

"He  said  unto  him,  come  out  of  the  man,  thou  un- 
clean spirit ;  and  he  asked  him,  what  is  thy  name ; 
and  he  answered,  saying,  my  name  is  Legion ;  for  we 
are  many."  Mark  v.  8,  9. 


THEIR    EXISTENCE    AXD    CHARACTER.  21 

"  Depart  from  me,  ye  cursed,  into  everlasting  fire, 
prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels."  Matt.  xxv.  41. 

"  God  spared  not  the  angels  that  sinned,  but  cast 
them  down  to  hell."  2  Peter  ii.  4. 

These  form  but  a  small  portion  of  the  inspired  decla- 
rations which  might  be  adduced  under  this  head,  yet 
they  suffice  to  place  the  fact  beyond  a  cavil,  and  our 
next  step  is  to  ascertain  the  extent  of  power  possessed 
by  Satan  ;  and  the  habitual  employment  of  the  infer- 
nal hosts. 


22  OF  evil   spirits: 


SECTION    II. THE    POWER    AND    EMPLOYMENT    OF 

EVIL    SPIRITS. 

Always  bearing  in  mind  that  our  discoveries  of  things 
unseen  must  be  limited  by  the  plain  declarations  of 
God's  word,  we  shall  find  it  very  difficult  to  fix  the  pre- 
cise bounds  of  Satan's  power  and  authority.  That  he 
possesses  vast  influence  over  man  in  his  fallen  state  is 
very  plain.  Our  Lord  repeatedly  calls  him  "the  prince 
of  this  world."  "Now  shall  the  prince  of  this  world 
be  cast  out."  John  xii.  31.  "  The  prince  of  this  world 
cometh,  and  hath  nothing  in  me."  xiv.  30.  "  The  prince 
of  this  world  is  judged."  xvi.  11.  St.  Paul  speaks  of 
him  as  "the  god  of  this  world."  2  Cor.  iv.  4  ;  and  as 
"  the  prince  of  the  power  of  the  air,  the  spirit  that  now 
worketh  in  the  children  of  disobedience."  Eph.  ii.  2. 
Considering  how  deliberately  our  first  parents  cast  off 
their  allegiance  to  God  at  the  bidding  of  Satan,  and  by 
so  doing,  virtually  transferred  it  to  him,  we  may  suppose 
his  acquired  dominion  to  be  exceedingly  great :  inso- 
much that  when  earth's  rightful  Lord  first  came,  in 
great  humility,  to  make  reconciliation  for  that  iniquity 
of  his  creature,  man,  Satan,  exhibiting  all  the  kingdoms 
of  the  world,  could  utter  that  fearful  boast,  "  All  this 
power  will  I  give  thee,  and  the  glory  of  them  :  for 
that  is  delivered  unto  me  ;  and  to  whomsoever  I  will, 
I  give  it."  Luke  iv.  G.  His  triumphant  vaunt  indeed 
was  of  short  duration  ;  for*  He,  whom  he  dared  to 
tempt,  speedily  cast  him  out  of  his  earthly  possessions, 


THEIR   POWER    AND    EMPLOYMENT.  23 

and  stripped  him  too,  of  a  more  terrible  prerogative  : 
for  the  Son  of  God  became  partaker  of  flesh  and  blood, 
"that  through  death  he  might  destroy  him  that  had  the 
power  of  death,  that  is  the  devil,  and  deliver  them  who 
through  fear  of  death  were  all  their  lifetime  subject  to 
bondage."     Heb.  ii.  14,   15. 

But  beyond  this,  there  is  something  that  we  cannot 
fathom :  Satan  is  represented  to  us  occasionally  in  situa- 
tions far  higher  than  a  mere  ruler  of  all  the  kingdoms 
of  our  earth  could  aspire  to.  Glimpses  of  a  mysteri- 
ous freedom  of  access  to  heavenly  places  are  now  and 
then  afforded  us  ;  and  though  men  have  undertaken 
to  explain  away  by  a  system  of  types  and  figures  what 
our  enfeebled  intellect  cannot  grasp,  still  we  have  the 
plain  declarations  of  God's  word,  which  it  would  be 
our  higher  wisdom  to  receive  in  its  obvious  meaning ; 
and  where  we  cannot  comprehend,  to  lay  our  mouths 
in  the  dust,  and  silently  adore. 

The  first  of  these  instances  occurs  in  the  history  of 
Job  ;  where  it  is  said,  "  Now  there  was  a  day  when 
the  sons  of  God  came  to  present  themselves  before  the 
Lord,  and  Satan  came  also  among  them.  And  the 
Lord  said  unto  Satan,  whence  comest  thou  ?  Then 
Satan  answered  the  Lord,  and  said,  "  From  going  to 
and  fro  in  the  earth,  and  from  walking  up  and  down 
in  it."  Job  i.  6,  7,  and  ii.  1,  2.  This  occurs  twice. 
Again,  Zechariah  says,  "  And  he  shewed  me,  Joshua, 
the  high  priest,  standing  before  the  angel  of  the  Lord, 
and  Satan  standing;  at  his  right  hand  to  resist  him. 
And  the  Lord  said  unto  Satan,  The  Lord  rebuke  thee, 
O  Satan ;  even  the  Lord  that  hath  chosen  Jerusalem 


24  OF  EVIL  spirits  : 

rebuke  thee :  is  not  this  a  brand  plucked  out  of  the  fire  \" 
Zech.  iii.  1,  2.  Perfectly  consistent  with  these  views 
is  the  language  of  tho  Apocalypse  ;  in  a  passage  bear- 
ing so  emphatically  on  our  subject,  that  it  must  be 
given  entire.  "  And  there  was  war  in  heaven :  Mi- 
chael  and  his  angels  fought  against  the  dragon ;  and 
the  dragon  fought,  and  his  angels  ;  and  prevailed  not : 
neither  was  their  place  found  any  more  in  heaven. 
And  the  great  dragon  was  cast  out,  that  old  serpent, 
called  the  Devil,  and  Satan,  which  deceiveth  the  whole 
world  :  he  was  cast  out  into  the  earth,  and  his  angels 
were  cast  out  with  him.  And  I  heard  a  loud  voice 
saying  in  heaven,  Now  is  come  salvation  and  strength, 
and  the  kingdom  of  our  God,  and  the  power  of  his 
Christ :  for  the  accuser  of  our  brethren  is  cast  down, 
which  accused  them  before  God,  day  and  night.  And 
they  overcame  him  by  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  and  by 
the  word  of  their  testimony  ;  and  they  loved  not  their 
lives  unto  the  death.  Therefore  rejoice,  ye  heavens, 
and  ye  that  dwell  in  them.  Wo  to  the  inhabitants  of 
the  earth,  and  of  the  sea ;  for  the  Devil  is  come  down 
unto  you,  having  great  wrath,  because  he  knoweth 
that  he  hath  but  a  short  time."  Rev.  xii.  7 — 12. 
Whatever,  and  whenever  this  casting  out  may  be,  it 
does  not  appear  to  have  taken  place  in  Paul's  time ; 
for  in  writing  to  the  Ephesians,  he  says,  "  We  wrestle 
not  against  flesh  and  blood,  but  against  principalities, 
against  powers,  against  the  rulers  of  the  darkness  of 
this  world,  against  wicked  spirits  in  heavenly  places." 
Eph.  vi.  12.  So  reads  the  margin  of  our  authorized 
version ;  and  Wiclif,  in  1380,  translates  it,  "  Agens 


THEIR    POWER    AND    EMPLOYMENT.  25 

spiritual  thingis  of  wickednesse  in  hewinli,  thingis." 
The  Geneva  version,  1557,  has  it,  "  Against  spiritual 
wickednesses  which  are  above ;"  and  the  Rhenish,  1582, 
"  Against  the  spirituals  of  wickedness  in  the  celestials." 
In  this,  as  in  other  instances,  a  growing  dimness  of  vision 
on  our  mysterious  and  awful  subject,  has  perhaps 
biased  both  translators  and  commentators,  to  put  a 
gloss  on  what  they  cannot  easily  reconcile  with  their 
established  systems.  There  is  yet  another  very  re- 
markable passage  belonging  to  this  head.  In  the 
book  of  Daniel,  we  find  a  heavenly  instructer  coming 
to  show  the  prophet  what  shall  befall  his  people,  the 
Jews,  in  the  latter  days,  who  thus  expresses  himself: 
"  The  prince  of  the  kingdom  of  Persia  withstood  me 
one  and  twenty  days;  but*lo,  Michael,  one  of  the 
chief  princes,  came  to  help  me."  Dan.  x.  13.  And 
again  he  says,  "  Now  will  I  return  to  fight  with  the 
prince  of  Persia  ;  and  when  I  am  gone  forth,  the 
prince  of  Grecia  shall  come.... and  there  is  none  that 
holdeth  with  me  in  these  things,  but  Michael  your 
prince."  Dan.  x.  20,  21.  It  is  not  to  be  supposed 
that  mere  mortal  kings  were  thus  enabled  to  resist 
angels:  we  can  but  understand  it  of  a  certain  au- 
thority exercised  by  these  wicked  spirits,  these  princi- 
palities, and  powers,  and  rulers  of  the  darkness  of  this 
world,  over  nations  that,  in  the  practice  of  idolatrous 
abominations  sacrificed  unto  devils,  as  the  Apostle 
declares.  We  build  no  theory  on  these  extraordinary 
declarations  of  the  Most  High :  we  merely  point  them 
out,  and  endeavour  to  show  how  they  harmonize  with 
Other  parts  of  the  same  immutable  word. 
3 


26  OF   EVIL    SPIRITS  I 

Micaiah's  vision  is  also  observable.  When  adjured 
by  the  king  to  declare  the  truth  of  what  the  Lord  had 
revealed  concerning  his  projected  enterprize,  he  thus 
disclosed  it : — "  I  saw  the  Lord  sitting  on  his  throne, 
and  all  the  host  of  heaven  standing  by  him,  on  his 
right  hand  and  on  his  left.  And  the  Lord  said,  Who 
shall  persuade  Ahab,  that  he  may  go  up  and  fall  at 
Ramoth  Gilead  1  And  one  said  on  this  manner,  and 
another  said  on  that  manner.  And  there  came  forth 
a  spirit,  and  stood  before  the  Lord,  and  said,  I  will 
persuade  him.  And  the  Lord  said  unto  him,  Where- 
with ?  And  he  said,  I  will  go  forth,  and  I  will  be  a 
lying  spirit  in  the  mouth  of  all  his  prophets.  And  he 
said,  Thou  shalt  persuade  him,  and  prevail  also  :  go 
forth  and  do  so."  1  Kings  xxii.  19 — 22.  This  is 
repeated  with  scarcely  any  verbal  variation  in  2 
Chron.  xviii.  18 — 21.  We  cannot  suppose  the 
prophet  of  the  Lord  was  at  liberty  to  invent  a  fiction 
concerning  the  inhabitants  of  heaven  ;  more  especially 
as  his  warning  was  exactly  fulfilled :  neither  can  we 
reasonably  suppose  that  a  holy  angel  would  volunteer 
to  become  a  lying  spirit,  to  mislead  a  sinner  to  his 
final  ruin.  The  doom  of  Ahab  had  long  been  fixed: 
dogs  were  to  lick  his  blood  in  the  place  where  the 
innocent  blood  of  the  murdered  Naboth  had  flowed; 
and  his  obstinate  determination  of  going  up  to  battle  to 
Ramoth  Gilead  was  the  means  of  its  fulfilment.  Still 
he  was  warned  :  the  conscientious  Jehosophat  would 
not  be  satisfied  unless  a  true  prophet  of  the  Lord  was 
inquired  of,  afler  the  encouragement  given  by  Ahab's 
lying  flatteries :  and  the  whole  device  was  then  laid 


THEIR    POWER    AND    EMPLOYMENT.  27 

bare,  though  the  wicked  king  rejected  the  merciful 
intimation,  and  committing  the  faithful  messenger  to 
prison,  rushed  open-eyed  upon  his  own  destruction. 

One  more  instance  of  Satanic  interference  in  matters 
far  above  our  level,  may  be  adduced.     The  Apostle 
Jude,  when  denouncing  those  who  "  speak  evil  of  dig- 
nities," adds,  "  Yet  Michael  the  archangel,  when  con- 
tending with  the  devil,  he  disputed  about  the  body  of 
Moses,  but  durst  not  bring  against  him  a  railing  accu- 
sation,   but    said,  The    Lord   rebuke   thee."  Jude  9. 
Some  indeed,  identify  this  passage  with  that  already 
cited   from    Zechariah,   explaining   it  of  the    Jewish 
polity,   or    Mosaic  law ;    and  would  therefore  object 
against  our  advancing  it  as  on  additional  testimony ; 
but  for  such  identification  we  can  see  no  warrant.     It 
would  rather  seem  to  refer  to  the  fact,  that  the  Lord 
so  hid  the  actual  human  body  of  Moses,  that  "  No  man 
knoweth  of  his  sepulchre  unto  this  day."  Deut.  xxxiv.  6. 
These  occasional  glimpses  of  the  invisible  world  are 
exceedingly  awful :  instead  of  regarding  the  adversary 
as  a  contemptible  being,  we  can  scarcely  overrate  his 
importance.      Possessed  of   a  power   that  we  cannot 
rightly  estimate,  and  filled  with  a  malignity  the  most 
direful  and  implacable,  he  is  not  a  solitary  individual 
waging  alone  the  war  of  rebellion  and  ruin:  he  has 
hosts  unnumbered  at  command,  as  we  have  already 
shown ;  and  doubtless  he  knows  too  well  the  value  of 
order  and  subordination  not  to  avail  himself,  as  a  skil- 
ful general,  of  his  whole  disposable  force.     What,  then, 
is  his  employment,  and  to  what  object  does  he  bend 
these  superhuman  energies  and  mighty  means  ?     The 


28  OF   EVIL    SPIRITS  I 

answer  may  be  found  in  any  part  of  the  Bible — we 
trace  him  by  his  operations,  where  he  is  not  actually 
named ;  and  we  know  that  so  far  as  it  concerns  us, 
all  may  be  summed  up  in  three  words,  Hostility  to 
man.  He  sought  to  deface  the  work  of  creation,  in 
its  bright  morning  prime  ;  and  to  a  sad  extent  he  suc- 
ceeded :  the  work  of  redemption  was  undertaken, 
through  the  tender  mercies  of  God,  to  repair  that  deadly 
breach ;  and  to  resist  it  is  the  perpetual  aim  of  Satan 
and  his  angels.  Alike  to  him  is  the  task  to  impede  a 
great  national  movement  towards  Christ,  and  to  lure  a 
little  child  from  the  way  of  righteousness.  In  either 
case  he  puts  forth  his  subtle  power,  and  never  loses 
sight  of  the  object.  Foreknowledge  he  does  not  pos- 
sess :  that  is  the  prerogative  of  Deity  alone ;  but  his 
calculations  must  be  wonderfully  accurate,  consider- 
ing that  to  the  high  angelic  faculties  of  his  nature,  he 
adds  the  experience  of  some  six  thousand  years  of  inti- 
mate concern  in  the  affairs  of  men:  and  a  perfect 
acquaintance  with  all  knowledge  and  all  mysteries, 
attainable  by  created  intelligence.  Before  him  are 
spread  out  all  the  phenomena  of  nature :  the  stars  in 
their  course,  the  ocean  in  its  depths,  the  earth  in  all 
her  hidden  recesses,  and  all  the  complicated  operations 
of  her  vast  elemental  laboratory,  are  visible  to  him. 
Long  ere  the  shadow  of  a  cloud  encroaches  on  the 
unruffled  sky  bounded  by  our  horizon,  he  perceives  the 
coming  storm,  and  prepares  to  seize  such  victims  as 
he  hopes  may  be  delivered  to  him  during  the  terrible 
convulsions.  While  all  above  is  peace  and  serenity, 
he  watches  the  internal  combustion,  and  gloats  over 


THEIR    POWER    AND   EMPLOYMENT.  29 

the  slumbering  city  about  to  be  inundated  with  a  flood 
of  burning  lava,  or  swallowed  in  the  yawning  chasms 
of  this  quaking  earth.  He  looks  into  man's  wonderful 
frame,  and  with  a  practised  skill  that  no  refinement  of 
mortal  art  can  attain  to,  marks  the  seeds  of  incipient 
disease,  as  they  take  root,  and  tend,  perhaps  unsus- 
pected by  the  heedless  individual,  to  the  harvest  of 
death — too  often,  alas !  a  harvest  of  wrath  and  ruin. 
Omnipresence  is  not  his  ;  but  motion  quicker  than  our 
thoughts  he  can  no  doubt  command  ;  and  with  an 
army  of  zealous  followers,  so  well  trained  to  execute 
his  behests,  he  may  leave  it  in  their  hands  to  work  out 
some  deep  laid  schemes  of  his  devising  in  one  quarter, 
while  he  speeds  to  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  to 
pursue  the  same  employment,  perhaps  in  a  distinct 
form ;  perhaps  so  as  to  harmonize  with,  and  to  help 
forward  the  preceding  mischief. 

In  order  rightly  to  estimate  the  peril  that  we  are  in 
from  this  tremendous  enemy,  we  must  consider  first, 
that  all  are  sinners,  condemned  by  the  law  of  God ; 
"  that  without  shedding  of  blood  there  is  no  remission," 
and  that,  therefore,  each  individual  believer  may  and 
must  say  of  Christ,  He  loved  me,  and  gave  himself  for 
me.  Christ  will  never  overlook,  or  be  indifferent  to  any 
soul  for  which  he  shed  his  precious  blood :  in  their  final 
salvation  he  sees  the  travail  of  his  own  soul,  and  is  sat- 
isfied :  and  we  have  no  lack  of  evidence  that  to  wrest  a 
single  human  being  from  the  hand  of  the  Saviour  is  an 
enterprise,  however  hopeless,  in  which  Satan  is  content 
to  embark  all  his  energies ;  and  to  put  into  motion  all 
the  vast  machinery  placed  at  his  disposal.  He  desires 
3* 


30  OF  evil  spirits: 

to  have  them  that  he  may  sift  them  as  wheat ;  yet  to 
judge  by  the  language  of  many  excellent  people,  it 
would  seem  as  though  they  considered  their  own  cor- 
rupt nature  and  evil  tendencies  as  the  only  hindrance 
in  the  heavenly  race.  This  is  a  dangerous  mistake : 
the  Bible  shows  us  in  a  most  impressive  manner  how 
our  adversary  works  upon  that  nature  which  he  first 
prevailed  to  corrupt.  David,  full  of  ease  and  abun- 
dance, meditates  en  the  extent  and  stability  of  his  wide 
kingdom,  and  Satan  takes  advantage  of  it  to  suggest 
an  act  that  he  knew  would  be  highly  displeasing  to 
the  Lord,  and  probably  bring  a  judgment  on  the  na- 
tion. "Satan  stood  up  against  Israel,  and  provoked 
David  to  number  Israel."  1  Chron.  xxi.  1.  Even 
Joab,  the  most  godless,  unscrupulous  man,  and  at  the 
same  time  the  most  devoted  subject  and  zealous  pat- 
riot, saw  the  danger  of  this  foolish  act,  and  remonstra- 
ted against  it.  But  the  Devil  had  possessed  the  king's 
mind  with  a  fancy  in  which  he  would  not  submit  to 
be  crossed,  and  the  consequence  was  a  destroying  vis- 
itation on  the  land.  Job  was  pious  and  prosperous, — 
the  enemy  attributed  his  godliness  to  his  gains,  and 
obtained  leave  to  try  him  by  heavy  losses,  calamities, 
and  bodily  sufferings ;  then  stirred  up  his  wife  to  coun- 
sel blasphemy  and  suicide,  and  failing  of  that,  insti- 
gated his  friends  to  tax  him  with  hypocrisy,  and  to  re- 
present these  afflictions  as  an  evident  judgment  from 
God,  sent  to  brand  him  in  the  sight  of  the  world  as  a 
gross  though  secret  transgressor.  Of  all  his  infernal 
devices  this  is  one  of  the  worst,  and  by  no  means  un- 
frequent.     Satan  first,  by  the  divine  permission,  afflicts 


THEIR    POWER    AND    EMPLOYMENT.  31 

a  child  of  God,  and  then  works  on  the  pride,  the  rash- 
ness, the  folly  of  some  friend  to  pour  corrosive  acids 
into  the  wound  where  the  softest  oil  of  Christian  sym- 
pathy and  love  ought  rather  to  trickle  down.  The 
operator  sees  a  cause  and  a  need-be,  for  his  friend's 
grievance  far  removed  from  those  which  the  Lord  saw 
when  he  smote  :  and  taking  this  phantom  of  Satan's 
conjuring  up  for  a  reality,  proceeds  to  do  the  arch- 
fiend's bidding  by  helping  forward  the  affliction  in  a 
clumsy  attempt  to  deal  wisely  with  it.  Thus  he  torment- 
ed Job,  by  means  of  his  three  friends,  whom  he  also  expos- 
ed to  the  Lord's  severe  displeasure  by  provoking  them 
to  such  presumptuous  sin  ;  while  Job,  whose  real  fault 
was  unrenewed  blindness  to  the  corruption  of  his  na- 
ture, reaped  a  two- fold  temporal,  and  a  ten  thousand- 
fold spiritual  blessing  from  what  the  Devil  hoped  to 
turn  to  his  destruction.  Judas  was  of  a  covetous  dis- 
position, and  would  have  been  a  thief  whenever  he  had 
opportunity ;  but  Satan  marked  him  out  for  the  deep- 
est crime  that  it  was  possible  for  man  to  perpetrate 
once  throughout  all  eternity.  "  Then  entered  Satan 
into  Judas,  surnamed  Iscariot :"  (Luke  xxii.  3.)  What 
an  awful  expression  is  that !  the  chief  adversary  of 
God  and  man  became  for  a  time  incarnate  to  oppose, 
and  by  opposing  to  accomplish,  the  great  object  of  the 
Lord  Jehovah  in  coming  down  to  earth.  He  pervaded 
with  his  diabolical  influence  the  mind  and  spirit  of  his 
willing  victim,  and  led  him  on  from  the  mere  indul- 
gence of  avaricious  thoughts  to  the  terrible  transgres- 
sion for  which  no  name  can  be  found  ;  then  left  him  to 
despair,  to  suicide,  and  to  hell.    Ananias  and  Sapphira 


32  OF  evil  spirits: 

were  doubly  covetous :  of  lucre  and  of  fame  ;  they 
wanted  both  to  keep  their  money,  and  to  obtain  ap- 
plause for  sacrificing  it  to  the  public  good.  Of  this 
Satan  took  advantage  to  fill  their  hearts  with  a  lie,  by 
which  they  might  hope  to  accomplish  the  desired  end. 
But  it  was  to  the  Holy  Ghost  that  the  lie  was  told, 
and  instantaneous  death  was  the  penalty  of  seeking 
either  to  deceive  the  Lord,  or  to  make  Him  connive  at 
their  guilt. 

These  instances  exhibit  the  manner  of  Satan's  work- 
ing, where,  but  for  what  is  revealed,  we  might  suppose 
no  such  agency  had  existed.  It  was  needful  that  Eve 
should  be  tempted  from  without,  since  the  image  of  God 
yet  remained  within,  and  her  heart,  still  holy  and  obe- 
dient, would  not  have  suggested  a  departure  from  the 
path  of  His  commandments.  But  the  idea  of  number- 
ing Israel — taking  a  census — in  time  of  peace,  and 
under  every  favourable  circumstance,  appears  so  natu- 
ral that  we  probably  should  not  search  beyond  the 
king's  desire  to  know  the  extent  of  Israel's  population, 
had  not  the  Holy  Spirit  expressly  told  us  who  provoked 
him  to  it.  In  like  manner  Job's  calamities  might  be 
referred  to  the  predatory  habits  of  his  Arab  neighbours, 
to  the  sudden  storms  and  blasts  of  the  desert,  and  to 
the  bodily  effects  often  produced  by  excessive  mental 
suffering  ;  while  the  erroneous  view  taken  by  his  three 
friends  was  perfectly  consistent  with  those  frequently 
formed  by  ourselves,  concerning  others,  when  we 
should  be  loth  to  imagine  that  the  Devil  was  prompt- 
ing us.  Judas  might  have  beeo  supposed  to  perpe- 
trate his  unparalleled  crime  under  the  impression  that 


THEIR    POWER    AND    EMPLOYMENT.  33 

his  Master  would,  as  he  had  more  than  once  before 
done,  deliver  himself  by  a  miracle  from  the  hands  into 
which  he  was  about  to  sell  him :  and  Ananias  with  his 
wife,  might  have  arranged  their  plan  under  the  im- 
pulse of  natural  vanity,  combined  with  love  of  money. 
Yet  in  all  these  cases  we  are  distinctly  told  that  Satan 
himself  was  present  to  instigate  and  direct ;  and  many 
a  recollection  of  our  own  past  lives,  now  perhaps  pain- 
ful and  self-condemnatory,  would  wring  our  hearts 
with  anguish  and  horror  if  we  knew  how  far  the  great 
adversary  was  concerned  in  them,  and  to  what  extent 
the  will  of  God  was  resisted,  the  cause  of  Christ  injur- 
ed, and  the  Holy  Ghost  grieved,  while  evil  spirits 
looked  on  rejoicing.  We  "  give  place  to  the  Devil  " 
daily ;  and  nothing  more  effectually  helps  him  to  lead  us 
into  this  breach  of  a  positive  command,  than  our  rea- 
diness to  forget  his  continual  presence,  either  person- 
ally or  by  his  active  ministers ;  and  perhaps  to  leave 
out  of  sight  the  fact  of  his  very  existence. 


III. 

SATANIC  DARING. 

The  truth  being  established  that  there  exists  a  compa- 
ny of  evil  spirits,  continually  employed  in  resisting  the 
power  of  God,  and  stirring  up  his  creatures  to  rebel 
against  his  authority,  it  is  not  to  be  expected  that  in 
every  instance  cited  as  illustrating  this  truth,  precise 
mention  by  name  should  be  made  of  those  who  are 
clearly  exhibited  in  that  work.  Very  many  cases  may 
be  adduced  where  such  mention  is  distinctly  made  ; 
and  in  tracing  others  to  the  same  source,  we  must 
bear  in  mind  the  apostolic  warning,  "  Let  no  man  say 
when  he  is  tempted,  I  am  tempted  of  God :  for  God 
cannot  be  tempted  of  evil,  neither  tempteth  he  any 
man  ;  but  every  man  is  tempted  when  he  is  drawn 
away  of  his  own  lust  and  enticed."  James  i.  13, 14. 
The  plan,  therefore,  of  Satan  is  to  watch  the  indica- 
tions of  our  prevailing  corruptions,  and  to  provide  us 
with  opportunities  of  gratifying  them,  that  lust  when  it 
hath  conceived  may  the  more  readily  bring  forth  the 
sin  which,  as  the  enemy  well  knows,  will,  when  it  is 
finished,  bring  forth  death. 

Nor  is  it  to  the  evil  passions  alone  that  he  appeals  ; 


SATANIC    DARING.  35 

his  daring  knows  no  bounds.  Even  in  the  holy  nature 
of  the  man  Christ  Jesus,  as  untainted  by  original  or  by 
actual  sin,  he  could  seek  for  somewhat  whereon  to 
build  a  powerful  temptation.  He  had  been  incessant- 
ly assailing  the  patient  Saviour  in  the  wilderness,  dur- 
ing forty  days ;  at  the  end  of  which  he  saw  him  tor- 
tured by  the  cravings  of  a  hunger,  which  the  termina- 
tion of  his  prescribed  season  of  fasting  left  him  at  lib- 
erty to  satisfy.  Now  it  would  have  been  every  whit 
as  easy  for  our  Lord,  by  the  putting  forth  of  his  infi- 
nite power,  to  transform  a  stone  into  bread,  as  to  mul- 
tiply five  loaves  to  the  satisfying  of  five  thousand  peo- 
ple ;  or  out  of  the  stones  of  the  temple  to  raise  up  chil- 
dren unto  Abraham.  The  desire  for  food  was  natural, 
lawful ;  yea,  it  was  a  duty  to  satisfy  it,  since  prolong- 
ed abstinence  must  end  in  self-murder.  We  may  in- 
dulge in  guesses  and  suppositions  as  to  the  precise 
grounds  on  which  the  suggestion  stood  as  a  temptation 
of  the  Devil,  but  all  that  we  can  certainly  know  is,  the 
fact,  that  so  it  was,  and  that  as  such  it  was  rejected. 
Coming  as  it  did  in  the  shape  of  a  proposal  merely  to 
satisfy  a  human  want  by  means  of  his  divine  power, 
we  see  the  deep  craftiness  of  this  insidious  and  perfidi- 
ous tempter,  and  learn  a  solemn  lesson  of  perpetual 
watchfulness,  and  careful  sifting  of  whatever  is  sug- 
gested to  our  minds,  whether  by  outward  circumstances, 
the  counsel  of  friends,  or  the  seemingly  intuitive  sug- 
gestions of  our  own  minds  :  for  he  who  assailed  the 
Master  will  not  spare  the  servant. 

Again,  the  object  of  our  Lord's  incarnation  was  to 
wrest  from  Satan  the  kingship  of  the  world ;  to  cast 


OO  OF   EVIL    SPIRITS  : 

him  out  of  his  possessions,  to  take  the  prey  from  the 
mighty,  and  deliver  the  lawful  captive.  This  was  to 
be  accomplished  by  exceeding  bitter  sufferings,  of 
which  a  foretaste  was  then  present,  in  the  pangs  of  ex- 
treme hunger.  Humanity  shrank  from  what  Deity 
foreknew  ;  and  we  have  very  touching  statements  from 
the  evangelists,  of  the  anguish  that  overwhelmed  the 
blessed  Jesus  on  the  near  approach  of  the  climax  of 
his  woes.  He  was  even  brought  to  pray,  "  O  my  Fa- 
ther, if  it  be  possible,  let  this  cup  pass  from  me !" 
Matt.  xxvi.  39.  Yet  in  all  this  not  a  taint  of  evil  ex- 
isted ;  it  was  the  innocent  shrinking  of  innocent,  holy 
flesh,  from  intense  tortures.  Of  this  Satan  seems  to 
have  taken  his  next  advantage  ;  for  he  exhibited  to  the 
divine  object  of  his  infernal  artifices  all  the  kingdoms 
of  the  world,  with  a  reference  to  his  own  acknowledg- 
ed sovereignty  over  them,  and  proposed  terms  on  which 
he  would  consent  to  abdicate  in  favour  of  his  dreaded 
opponent,  so  rendering  needless  the  terrific  conflict  in 
which  the  Lord  must  engage  to  effect  his  expulsion  by 
force.  This  was  a  most  refined  temptation :  it  pro- 
posed a  single  momentary  act  of  homage,  in  acknowl- 
edgment of  the  existing  supremacy  of  that  enthroned 
rebel  and  traitor,  to  be  followed  by  the  instantaneous 
resignation  of  his  usurped  dominion  into  the  hands  of 
the  rightful  King.  He  saw  the  mortal  frame  drooping 
under  prolonged  inanition ;  he  knew  how  closely  the 
human  mind  naturally  sympathized  with  the  body's 
feebleness :  he  calculated  on  the  effect  of  forty  days' 
endurance  of  hunger,  thirst,  weariness,  solitude,  and 
unsheltered  exposure ;  and  he,  the  Devil,  the  liar  and 


SATANIC    DARING.  37 

the  murderer,  boldly  ventured  on  a  proposition,  the 
nature  of  which  sends  a  shudder  through  the  heart  of 
the  Christian,  for  whose  sake  the  Lord  of  Glory  was 
exposed  to  such  an  indignity  as  this !  But  it  gives  a 
very  terrible  view  of  the  self-confident  greatness  of  the 
adversary.  May  it  sink  deep  into  our  minds,  and  fill 
us  with  that  salutary  fear  which  shall  keep  us  ever 
mindful  of  the  foe's  devices. 

The  Lord's  reply  was  strongly  indignant ;  "  Get 
thee  hence,  Satan  !"'  But  now  this  holy  indignation, 
this  desire  to  be  freed  from  the  presence  of  the  arch- 
fiend, who  had  been  harassing  him  for  forty  days  and 
nights,  this  detestation  of  his  odious  suggestions,  was 
next  laid  hold  of  as  the  ground-work  of  a  third  temp- 
tation. By  the  exercise  of  that  mysterious  power,  of 
the  nature  of  which  we  must  remain  ignorant,  but 
ought  never  to  be  forgetful,  the  devil  placed  his  des- 
tined conqueror  on  a  pinnacle  of  the  temple  in  Jerusa* 
lem,  and  calling  to  his  aid  the  Scriptures,  which  han 
been  successfully  opposed  to  his  preceding  attempts, 
he  invited  the  Saviour  to  cast  himself  down ;  "for  it 
is  written,  He  shall  give  his  angels  charge  over  thee, 
to  keep  thee,  and  in  their  hands  they  shall  bear  thee 
up,  lest  at  anytime  thou  dash  thy  foot  against  a  stone." 
Luke  iv.  10,  11.  To  be  at  once  delivered  from  the 
immediate  presence  of  Satan,  and  received  into  the 
arms  of  the  holy  angels ;  while  to  decline  it  was  ap- 
parently to  shrink  not  only  from  the  proof  of  his  di- 
vinity, but  also  from  a  test  of  individual  faith  in  the 
promise  of  God  :  this  was  a  snare,  the  craft  and  subtle- 
ty of  which  are  not  always  sufficiently  considered  ; 
4 


38  OF    EVIL     SPIRITS  I 

nor  the  practical  use  of  the  lesson  regarded.  For,  be 
it  remembered,  it  was  no  necessary  part  of  our  re- 
demption to  make  us  acquainted  with  such  a  passage 
in  our  Lord's  experience :  the  Holy  Ghost  has  very 
sparingly  revealed  to  us  the  particulars  of  what  was 
by  far  the  most  grievous  portion  of  his  sufferings :  we 
are  not  told  what  took  place  during  the  forty  days, 
throughout  the  whole  period  of  which  St.  Luke  tells 
us,  he  was  tempted  of  the  devil.  The  thorny  crown, 
the  scourge,  the  nails,  the  spear,  were  the  lot  of  many 
others,  whose  physical  frames  suffered,  perhaps,  no 
less  exquisitely  the  pangs  of  a  torturing  death  ;  but 
here  we  have  a  glimpse  of  mental  and  spiritual  endur- 
ances, such  as  would  crush  the  whole  mass  of  guilty 
men — "the  travail  of  his  soul" — the  "sorrows"  and 
the  "grief;"  the  heavy  pressure  wherewith  "it  pleas- 
ed the  Lord  to  bruise  him."  Isaiah  liii.  10.  We 
know  not  what  ensued,  when,  just  previous  to  this  fear- 
ful agony  in  the  garden,  the  Lord  said,  "  The  Prince 
of  this  world  cometh."  John  xiv.  30.  Neither  can 
we  penetrate  what  was  implied  in  the  expression  used 
to  the  wretched  men  who  seized  on  him—"  This  is 
your  hour,  and  the 'power  of  darkness."  Luke  xxii.  53. 
Hereafter  we  shall  doubtless  know  what  in  their  pres- 
ent burdened  state  our  spirits  could  not  support :  we 
shall  better  comprehend  the  nature  and  intensity  of 
sufferings  undergone  by  Him  who  poured  out  his  soul 
unto  death  for  us  :  but  since  what  is  given  by  inspira- 
tion is  written  for  our  learning,  we  may  be  assured 
that  the  scene  so  distinctly  sketched  of  the  mysterious 
encounter  between  the  Son  of  righteousness  and  the 


SATANIC    DARING.  39 

prince  of  darkness,  is  intended  to  fill  us  with  godly- 
fear  ;  to  keep  us  watchful  against  the  tremendous  foe, 
and  to  endear  to  us  the  written  word  of  the  Old  Tes- 
tament, which  some  Christians  are  apt  to  slight ;  but 
which  furnished  the  Captain  of  our  salvation  with 
weapons  wherewith  to  repel  the  bold  assailant.  The 
deity  of  Jesus  is  the  sword,  from  which  Satan  shrinks ; 
and  even  in  the  brief,  but  inexpressibly  momentous 
narrative  referred  to,  there  is  observable  a  constant 
reference,  on  our  Lord's  part,  to  the  eternal  God, 
which  appears  calculated  to  remind  the  rebel  that  He, 
with  whom  he  was  presumptuously  dealing,  was  yet 
the  Lord  his  God.  Some  have  represented  this  assault 
as  planned  by  the  evil  one,  to  satisfy  himself  as  to  the 
fact  of  Jesus  being  the  Christ :  we  cannot  subscribe  to 
this  view :  surely  the  prince  of  the  devils  was  not 
worse  informed  than  his  subordinates,  who,  on  the  ap- 
proach of  our  Lord,  evermore  yelled  forth  their  con- 
fessions of  his  deity,  and  deprecating  the  visitation  of 
his  wrath.  Satan  knew  full  well,  that  the  elect  an- 
gels were  no  liars,  like  himself:  and  when  in  songs  of 
joy  and  praise  they  announced  to  the  shepherds  the 
birth  of  "  a  Saviour,  which  is  Christ  the  Lord,"  he 
could  not  disbelieve  their  testimony.  The  particulars 
of  that  miraculous  birth  were  not  concealed  from  him ; 
neither  was  the  promise  which  God  gave  to  Eve,  or 
the  prediction  declared  to  Ahaz,  unknown.  Still  less 
can  we  for  a  moment  suppose  that  the  testimony  given 
just  before,  at  the  Lord's  baptism,  had  escaped  him. 
No  ;  Satan  knew  with  whom  he  had  to  do  ;  and  well 
may  we  tremble,  when  we  find  him  taking  advantage 


40  OF    EVIL    SPIRITS  ! 

of  the  purest  concomitants  of  undefiled  humanity,  and 
with  them  tempting  the  Lord  his  God. 

Scripture  likewise  unfolds  to  us  many  instances  in 
which  God's  servants  have  been  assailed  by  the  enemy, 
under  the  feigned  character  of  a  divine  influence,  to 
confirm  which  he  has  put  forth  all  his  powers,  and 
wrought  wonders.  A  very  remarkable  instance  of  this 
is  found  in  the  story  of  Israel's  deliverance  :  and 
though  it  is  a  part  of  his  craft  to  lead  men  so  to  ex- 
plain away  the  passages  touching  himself,  as  to  neu- 
tralize in  a  great  degree  God's  gracious  purpose  in 
dictating  them,  we  are  not  bound  to  follow  their  gloss- 
es,— we  may  venture  to  take  Scripture  as  we  find  it, 
and  to  believe  that  when  the  Holy  Ghost  says  a  thing, 
he  means  what  he  says,  and  not  something  else.  The 
marvels  that  Satan  wrought  by  means  of  Pharaoh's 
magicians  were  calculated  not  only  to  harden  the  heart 
of  the  tyrant  against  the  truly  miraculous  manifesta- 
tions of  God's  power,  but  also  to  stagger  the  faith  of 
Moses  and  Aaron  in  the  divine  origin  of  their  mission. 
We  are  not  at  liberty  to  call  them  juggling  deceptions, 
as  some  do  ;  mere  sleight  of  hand  tricks,  performed  by 
court  conjurors  :  the  word  of  God  declares  them  to 
have  been  realities :  and  most  instructive  they  are  to 
us,  who,  looking  for  the  national  redemption  and  final 
restoration  of  Israel,  according  to  the  Lord's  promise, 
now  very  near  at  hand,  may  expect  to  witness  fearful 
things  done  in  opposition  to  it  by  the  power  of  Satan, 
who  hates  the  Jew  with  an  implacable  hatred.  We 
find  the  magicians  of  Egypt  doing  what  man,  without 
supernatural    aid   could    never    have   accomplished. 


SATANIC    DARING.  41 

"  Now  the  magicians  of  Egypt,  they  also  did  in  like 
manner  with  their  enchantments  ;  for  they  cast  down 
every  man  his  rod,  and  they  became  (not  they  seemed 
to  become)  serpents :  but  Aaron's  rod  swallowed  up 
their  rods."  Exod.  vii.  11,  12.  Here  was  a  great 
wonder  wrought  by  the  power  of  Satan,  but  overruled 
to  the  fuller  proof  of  the  mighty  work  of  God.  When 
Moses  turned  the  water  into  blood,  the  magicians  did 
the  same,  but  of  course  on  a  very  small  scale,  since 
there  could  be  but  little  left  for  them  to  practise  upon. 
Again,  they  were  able  to  imitate  a  miracle,  by  bring- 
ing up  frogs  upon  the  land ;  but  now  the  power  of 
Satan  ended ;  the  next  wonder  was  one  of  creation,  and 
life,  even  the  lowest  order  of  animal  life  is  not  his  to 
bestow.  He  can  kill,  when  permitted;  but  to  make 
alive  was  never  given  to  him.  His  agents  essayed  to 
bring  up  frogs,  from  the  recesses  where  they  were  hid- 
den, and  succeeded  ;  but  when  they  attempted  to  bring 
forth  lice  from  the  dust  of  the  earth,  they  utterly  fail- 
ed. It  does  not  appear  that  after  this  they  ventured 
on  increasing  the  swarms  of  flies,  as  they  had  done 
that  of  frogs ;  or  to  smite  the  cattle  of  the  children  of 
Israel,  when  the  Lord  had  destroyed  those  of  the  Egyp- 
tians :  and  the  next  visitation  drove  them  out  of  the 
royal  presence,  covered  with  loathsome  sores  which 
their  infernal  master  had  no  power  to  heal. 

How  encouraging  is  this  to  us !  Satan  may  do 
much  to  terrify,  to  perplex,  and  to  afflict  us ;  but  as 
soon  as  he  touches  on  a  single  attribute  of  the  Most 
High,  he  fails,  and  is  put  to  flight.  Yet  to  make  it  ap- 
pear that  what  he  does  is  done  immediately  by  the 
4* 


42  OF  EVIL  spirits  : 

Lord,  is  almost  always  his  plan.  Thus  we  find,  when 
destroying  the  flocks  of  Job  and  their  attendants,  he  so 
managed  his  elements  of  destruction,  that  the  terrified 
messenger  of  evil  tidings  described  it  as  a  divine  vis- 
itation :  "  The  fire  of  God  is  fallen  from  heaven,  and 
hath  burned  up  the  sheep  and  the  servants,  and  con- 
sumed them."  Job.  i.  16.  It  could  not  but  dreadfully 
aggravate  the  affliction  of  the  righteous  man,  to  regard 
these  sore  trials  as  marks  of  the  Lord's  indignation, 
proceeding  directly  from  Him  :  and  no  doubt  it  was  so 
arranged  to  add  power  to  the  detestable  suggestion 
conveyed  through  his  wife.  But  though  Job  believed 
the  lie,  his  faith  in  God's  love  failed  not ;  by  faith  he 
endured,  and  through  faith  he  triumphed.  If  we  do 
not  distinctly  see  in  what  manner  faith  acts  as  a  shield, 
or  how  effectually  it  quenches  all  the  fiery  darts  of  the 
wicked,  it  is  because  we  do  not  sufficiently  search  the 
Scriptures.  They  abound  with  glorious  illustrations  : 
and  the  path  of  safety  is  so  clearly  laid  down,  that  the 
wayfaring  men,  though  fools,  shall  not  err  therein,  if 
they  simply  attend  to  the  indications  given.  To  those 
who  study  it  with  prayer,  as  a  book  written  not  for  the 
learned,  but  for  "the  poor  of  this  world,"  the  "fools," 
the  "babes,"  to  whom  the  Lord  Has  declared  that  he 
will  make  his  wonders  of  salvation  known,  the  Bible 
is  of  all  works  the  most  intelligible;  only  rendered 
otherwise  by  the  foolish  "  wisdom  of  this  world,"  hold- 
ing up  its  moonlight  to  make  the  sun  visible.  Satan 
owes  much  even  to  the  best  of  commentators  ;  for  they 
have  frequently  assisted  to  veil  both  his  person  and  his 
devices,   by  their    ill-judged   attempts   at  elucidation, 


SATANIC    DARING.  43 

which,  taken  in  their  literal  sense,  God's  words  would 
have  revealed  important  practical  truths  respecting  him. 
We  are  dwelling  principally  on  the  display  of  sa- 
tanic  presumption  as  the  usurping  god  of  this  world  : 
the  means  by  which  that  usurpation  was  effected,  pre- 
sent a  fearful  view  of  his  daring  self-reliance.  In  his 
very  first  approach  to  our  unhappy  race,  then  rejoicing 
in  sinless  felicity,  he  deliberately  contradicted  the  ex- 
press declaration  of  the  Most  High  God ;  and  appeal- 
ing, as  afterwards  in  the  case  of  the  second  Adam,  to  a 
perfectly  innocent,  laudable  desire,  he  stirred  up  Eve 
to  seek  higher  attainments  in  knowledge,  a  clearer  per- 
ception of  good,  as  opposed  to  evil;  then  stimulating 
this  thirst  for  information  beyond  due  bounds — 
leading  it  to  overpass  the  landmark  of  submission  to 
the  Divine  will,  he  accomplished  at  once  what  must 
have  appeared  to  himself  a  most  hazardous  underta- 
king. To  represent  God  as  a  liar  could  not  but  be 
congenial  to  the  diabolical  nature  of  the  accursed 
spirit  of  evil ;  but  that  a  creature  so  formed  to  know, 
to  love,  and  to  serve  the  Lord,  surrounded  on  all  sides 
with  the  profusion  of  his  bounty,  and  continually  drink- 
ing from  the  fountain  of  all  spiritual,  all  intellectual, 
all  physical  enjoyment,  under  His  paternal  hand, — 
that  such  a  creature  should  at  the  first  word  be  persua- 
ded to  credit  the  lie,  and  to  rush  into  open  transgres- 
sion, must  have  been  marvellous  in  the  eyes  of  the 
tempter.  How  marvellous  in  ours  must  be  the  ex- 
treme daring  that  prompted  him  to  the  enterprise. 

After  such  a  proof  of  the  weakness  of  human  nature, 
while  yet  wholly  untainted  with  sin,  and  the  observa- 


44  OF  EVIL  spirits  : 

tion  during  many  ages  of  the  frightful  depravity  into 
which  a  being,  originally  created  after  the  image  of 
God,  might  easily  be  led,  it  becomes  less  inconceiva- 
ble that  Satan  should  have  availed  himself  of  the  per- 
mission given  to  assault  the  man,  Christ  Jesus  ;  for  be 
it  always  remembered^  that  only  by  permission  could 
he  approach  the  Saviour.  We  are  distinctly  told,  that 
after  the  baptism  and  public  recognition  from  heaven 
of  our  blessed  Lord,  preparatory  to  his  ministerial,  or 
prophetical  work  upon  earth,  "  Then  was  Jesus  led  up 
of  the  Spirit  into  the  wilderness,  to  be  tempted  of  the 
devil."  Matt.  iv.  1.  However  high,  however  power- 
ful, however  pi'ivileged  the  great  adversary  may  be, 
during  the  time  of  his  yet  remaining  unbound,  still,  in 
the  sight  of  God,  he  is  equally  helpless  and  contempt- 
ible, as  he  is  hateful.  He  durst  not  even  utter  an  ex- 
tenuating word  when  his  doom  was  pronounced,  to- 
gether with  that  of  his  wretched  victims :  he  cannot 
hurt  a  hair  on  the  head  of  one  of  Christ's  meanest  fol- 
lowers, without  a  special  leave  so  to  do ;  and  then  he 
cannot  overpass  the  precise  boundary  of  his  permitted 
machinations.  "  Behold,  the  devil  shall  cast  some  of 
you  into  prison,  that  ye  may  be  tried ;  and  ye  shall 
have  tribulation  ten  days.'"  Rev.  ii.  10.  Some,  not 
all,  he  should  have  leave  to  cast  into  prison,  and  they 
only  that  they  might  be  tried,  not  destroyed  ;  and  their 
trial  should  continue  ten  days,  not  a  minute  longer. 
His  commission,  no  doubt,  is  much  larger  with  respect 
to  those  who  are  still  in  "  the  snare  of  the  devil ;  who 
are  taken  captive  by  him  at  his  will,"  (2  Tim.  ii.  26,) 
and  who  will  ultimately  share  his  burning  abode  for 


SATANIC    DARING.  45 

ever,  if  they  turn  not  to  Christ  for  deliverance ;  but 
the  blessed  work  of  the  Gospel  preached  unto  man  is 
"  to  turn  them  from  darkness  to  light,  and  from  the 
power  of  Satan  unto  God,  that  they  may  receive  for- 
giveness of  sins,  and  inheritance  among  them  which 
are  sanctified  by  faith  which  is  in  Christ ;"  Acts  xxvi. 
18 ;  and  when  this  is  once  accomplished,  the  devil  is 
compelled  to  recognise  the  indwelling  power  and  pres- 
ence of  his  conqueror  in  them ;  and  without  a  special 
leave,  granted  for  some  wise  purpose,  "  That  wicked 
one  toucheth  them  not." 


IV. 

SATANIC  CUNNING. 

Bold  as  he  is,  and  potent  as  he  is,  Satan  rarely  goes 
to  work  in  a  straightforward  manner.  He  is  still  the 
old  serpent,  accomplishing  by  craft  his  insiduous  pur- 
poses, gliding  stealthily  on  the  path  of  his  intended  vic- 
tim, and  concealing  himself  beneath  the  innocent 
flowers  with  which  the  Creator  has  bountifully  clad 
that  path.  Ill  some  parts  of  the  world  he  does  indeed 
enforce  upon  his  bond-slaves  the  horrible  service  of 
worshipping  him  openly  and  by  name,  in  order  to  de- 
precate the  temporal  mischief  that  they  know  he  is  able 
and  willing  to  do  them  ;  but,  generally,  he  veils  him- 
self under  fictitious  names  and  forms,  so  obtaining  to 
himself  and  his  angels  the  honour  and  service  that  are 
due  to  God  alone.  St.  Paul  tells  us  this  :  "  What  say 
I  then  ?  that  the  idol  is  anything,  or  that  which  is  of- 
fered in  sacrifice  to  idols  is  anything  ?  But  I  say,  that 
the  things  which  the  Gentiles  sacrifice,  they  sacrifice 
to  devils,  and  not  to  God  ;  and  1  would  not  that  ye 
should  have  fellowship  with  devils.  Ye  cannot  drink 
the  cup  of  the  Lord,  and  the  cup  of  devils ;  ye  cannot 


SATANIC    CUNNING.  47 

be  partakers  of  the  Lord's  table,  and  of  the  table  of 
devils."    1  Cor.  x.  19,  20,  21.     Satan  persuades  the 
poor  heathen  that  some  divine  power  resides  in  a  beast, 
a  reptile,  a  stone,  or  the  stock  of  a  tree ;  and  having 
induced  him  to  worship  it,  takes  to  himself  and  to  his 
gang  of  devils  the  honours  paid  to  the  senseless   idol. 
Well  may  he  be  termed  the  god  of  this  world  !    To  all 
its  successive  empires,  crumbling  into  dust   as  they 
have  done,  he  has  been  the  object  of  supreme  homage. 
The  Babylonian  might  fall  prostrate  before  his  gigan- 
tic idol  of  gold ;  the  Persian  breathe  his  devout  aspira- 
tions to  the  fiery  orb  of  day  ;  the  Greek  rejoice  in  his 
sculptured  forms  of  exquisite  beauty,  and  in  the  end- 
less mysteries  of  an  impure  worship ;  the  stern  Roman 
might  crowd  his  pantheon  with  the  captured  idols  of 
every  nation,  and  enlarge  his  unholy  creed  for  the  re- 
ception of  each  foreign  fable ;  but  in  all,  and  over  all, 
Satan  ruled.     Wherever  idolatry  is  found,  there  is 
Satan  the  god  of  the  worshippers.  His  voice  was  heard 
in  the  lowing  of  the  Egyptian  abomination,  in  the  de- 
cree that  prostrated  the  glory  of  the  Chaldeans  on  the 
plain  of  Dura,  and  in  every  incentive  to  creature- wor- 
ship under  whatsoever  form  observed,  and  by  whatso- 
ever sanctions   confirmed.     The  voice  that  from  the 
Minaret  proclaims  the  true  prophetic  character  of  Ma- 
homet, is  his;  the  bell  that  tinkles  forth  a  signal  for 
the  adoration  of  a  wafer-god,  is  sounded  by  him :  yea, 
the  secret  whisper  from  within  that  withholds  the  hand 
about  to  extend  the  gift  of  charity,  is  the  voice  of  his 
power  too,  for  "  covetousness  is  idolatry."    Col.  iii.  5. 
By  fraudful  cunning,  under  a  thousand  manifestations, 


48  OF    EVIL     SPIRITS  I 

he  upholds  his  unseen,  acknowledged  dominion  ;  never 
to  be  overthrown  till  the  Stone,  cut  out  without  hands, 
shall  smite  the  huge  image  of  universal  idolatry,  and 
gathering  to  itself  the  little,  faithful  band  of  protesters 
against  this  multifarious  devil-worship,  so  fill  the  earth 
as  to  thrust  out  of  it  whatsoever  resists  the  extension  of 
that  Stone's  triumphant  kingdom. 

To  adduce  instances  of  all  the  devices  of  Satan's 
cunning  recorded  by  or  to  be  clearly  inferred  from 
the  Holy  Scriptures  would  be  little  less  than  to  trans- 
cribe the  Bible  itself:  we  may  however  mention  some 
few,  where  diabolical  interference  is  expressly  spoken 
of.  The  Scriptures  do  not  often  explain  the  part  that 
the  tempter  and  his  hosts  took  in  the  toils,  the  strug- 
gles, the  sins  of  the  Old  Testament  church :  but 
under  the  gospel  dispensation,  enough  is  revealed  to 
enable  us  to  trace  his  workings  in  former  times,  even 
where  he  was  not  specified  by  name.  Who  can  fall 
to  see  this  in  the  touching  history  of  Joseph  ?  When 
the  youth  declared  his  dream,  the  meaning  was  evident 
to  his  father,  and  his  brothers  were  compelled  to  see 
it  in  the  same  light,  galling  as  it  was  to  their  pride. 
Their  envious,  angry  dispositions  gave  occasion  fu- 
tile tempter  to  assail  them,  and  to  suggest  the  cruel 
expedient  by  which,  as  they  hoped,  the  "  dreamer  " 
was  finally  put  out  of  their  way;  and  in  the  varied 
persecutions  that  followed  the  blameless  young  be- 
liever, the  malice  of  an  adversary,  potent  and  crafty, 
like  Satan,  may  be  plainly  discerned.  When  the 
children  of  Israel  corrupted  themselves  and  made  a 
golden  calf,  and  worshipped  it  in  the  name  of  the  Lord, 


SATANIC    CUNNING.  49 

the  artful  adaptation  to  their  circumstances  of  the 
idolatrous  abominations  that  they  had  seen  in  Egypt 
no  doubt  originated  in  the  same  quarter :  while  the 
continual  outbursts  of  discontent,  disobedience,  strife, 
and  open  rebellion  against  their  leader,  that  marked 
the  progress  of  the  rescued  tribes  through  the  wilder- 
ness, all  bear  witness  to  his  influence  among  them. 
Recollecting,  as  it  has  already  been  observed,  that  the 
Holy  Ghost  declares  idol-worship  to  be  devil-worship, 
we  have  positive  proof  that  Satan  and  his  legions  pre- 
sided over  the  heathen  nations  who  surrounded  the 
camp  of  Israel ;  and  all  the  seductive  arts  practised  by 
Balaam  and  others,  to  ensnare  the  Lord's  people  into 
forbidden  paths,  were  certainly  of  his  devising.  Moses, 
when  writing,  as  he  is  supposed  to  have  done,  the  book 
of  Job,  must  have  received  a  very  clear  revelation 
concerning  the  power  and  activity  of  this  fearful  foe, 
although  the  record  that  he  was  commissioned  to  leave 
of  his  own  people's  history,  makes  precise  mention  of 
the  evil  one,  as  personally  interfering  with  them :  but 
he  says,  in  the  Lord's  name,  of  the  Israelites,  "  They 
shall  no  more  offer  their  sacrifices  unto  devils,  after 
whom  they  have  gone  a  whoring  ;"  Lev.  xvii.  7 ;  and 
again,  "  They  sacrificed  unto  devils,  not  to  God ;  to 
gods  whom  they  knew  not,  to  new  gods  that  came 
newly  up,  whom  your  fathers  feared  not."  Deut. 
xxxii.  17.  While  against  the  sin  of  witchcraft,  the 
acquirement  of  power  or  knowledge  by  means  of 
Satanic  communications,  the  law  was  very  strict.  "A 
man,  also,  or  woman,  that  hath  a  familiar  spirit,  or 
5 


50  OF  evil  spirits: 

that  is  a  wizard,  shall  surely  be  put  to  death :  they 
shall  stone  them  with  stones  :  their  blood  shall  be  upon 
them."  Lev.  xx.  27.  By  this  we  see,  that  Satan  had 
contrived  to  obtain  a  footing  among  God's  peculiar 
people  ;  that  he  had  seduced  them  into  holding  inter- 
course with  his  subordinates  for  the  purpose  of  shar- 
ing such  supernatural  gifts  as  he  could  impart ;  and 
«ecretly,  by  fraud  and  cunning,  maintained  this  ground 
in  the  bosom  of  the  visible  Church.  Most  earnestly 
were  they  warned  against  this,  the  great  condemning 
sin  of  the  nations  of  Canaan  :  "There  shall  not  be  found 
among  you  any  one... that  useth  divination,  or  an  ob- 
server of  times,  or  an  enchanter,  or  a  witch,  or  a 
charmer,  or  a  consulter  with  familiar  spirits,  or  a 
wizard,  or  a  necromancer.  For  all  that  do  these 
things  are  an  abomination  unto  the  Lord  ;  and  be- 
cause of  these  abominations,  the  Lord  thy  God  doth 
drive  them  out  from  before  thee.'"5  Deut.  xviii.  10 — 12. 
That  this  peculiar  mode  of  destroying  God's  people 
was  persisted  in  by  the  crafty  enemy  to  the  very  time 
of  our  Lord's  appearance  in  the  flesh,  we  have  con- 
stant proof.  When  Abimelech,  the  son  of  Gideon,  by 
a  cruel  conspiracy  with  the  men  of  Shechem,  slew  his 
brethren,  and  obtained  the  chief  power,  the  Lord  de- 
feated and  punished  both  the  guilty  parties  by  sending 
an  evil  spirit  to  embroil  them  to  their  mutual  destruc- 
tion— a  business  well  suited  to  the  malignant  subtlety 
of  a  devil ;  to  whose  suggestions,  no  doubt,  or  to  those 
of  one  like  him,  the  young  man  owed  his  successful 
progress  in  treachery  so'  far.  When  Saul  greatly 
offended  the  Lord,  his  chastisement  was  heavy  :  "The 


SATANIC     CUNNING.  51 

Spirit  of  the  Lord  departed  from  Saul,  and  an  evil 
spirit  from  the  Lord  troubled  him."  1  Sam.  xvi.  14. 
Thus  commissioned,  the  evil  spirit  gave  that  unhappy 
king  no  rest,  during  the  period  of  his  visitations ;  but 
alternately  depressed  with  melancholy,  cankered  with 
envy,  and  inflamed  with  murderous  rage  the  mind  of 
his  victim ;  impelling  him  even  to  hurl  a  javelin  at 
the  loving,  dutiful  son,  whose  generosity  interposed 
between  him  and  the  ill- requited  minstrel,  from  whose 
holy  strains  of  music  the  tormenting  devil  had  so 
often  fled.  When  the  same  monarch,  in  the  near 
prospect  of  his  last  fatal  battle,  consummated  his 
offences  by  seeking  one  who  had  a  familiar  spirit, 
and  requiring  of  her  the  exercise  of  what  he,  as  the 
Lord's  vicegerent,  was  solemnly  bound  to  suppress, 
and  if  detected,  to  punish  with  death,  we  find  him 
answered  according  to  his  folly,  and  driven  to  utter 
despair  by  the  seeming  success  of  an  accursed  spell. 
1  Sam.  xxviii. 

Much  has  been  written  to  elucidate,  and  not  a  little 
to  explain  away  that  extraordinary  scene  at  En-dor  ; 
but  when  all  has  been  said  that  man  can  say,  there 
the  brief,  plain  record  stands,  exactly  as  they  found 
it,  and  all  the  wisdom  of  the  wise  fails  to  throw  light 
on  what  God  has  left  obscure.  The  word  of  God 
expressly  declares  that  it  was  Samuel.  "  And  Sam- 
uel said  to  Saul  "—verse  15.  "  Then  said  Samuel  " 
— 16.  Saul  "was  sore  afraid,  because  of  the  words 
of  Samuel  " — 20.  The  terror,  too,  of  the  woman,  and 
her  remarkable  expression,  "  I  saw  gods  ascending 
out  of  the  earth,"  v.  13,  would  plainly  imply,  that  her 


52  OF   evil   spirits: 

incantations  had  been  followed  by  something  wholly 
different  from  what  she  anticipated ;  she  had  invoked 
devils,  but  "  gods,''  probably  bright  angelic  beings, 
made  visible  to  her  for  some  wise  purpose,  appeared, 
bearing  with  them  the  resuscitated  body  of  the  buried 
seer,  commissioned  to  assure  the  king  that  he  and  his 
sons  should,  on  the  morrow,  be  numbered  with  Sam- 
uel and  the  rest  of  the  dead.  We  have  no  reason  to 
suppose  that  the  inspired  narrative  is  otherwise  than 
simply  true  :  indeed,  there  is  a  daring  presumption  in 
questioning  it :  "  Let  God  be  true,  and  every  man  a 
liar."  Rom.  iii.  4.  Least  of  all  may  we  listen  to 
those  who  would,  in  this  case,  as  in  that  of  Pharaoh's 
enchanters,  represent  witchcraft  as  a  mere  juggling 
imposition  on  the  senses  of  the  credulous  ;  and  ascribe 
the  woman's  astonishment,  not  to  the  angelic  charac- 
ter of  those  who  came  at  the  call,  but  to  the  appear- 
ance of  any  spiritual  being  whatever  when  she  had 
only  meant  to  play  off  a  deception  on  the  king.  We 
ought  rather  to  hail  it  as  a  glorious  proof  of  the  Lord's 
watchful  care  over  the  dust,  yea,  over  the  names  of 
his  own  people,  which  he  will  not  suffer  devils  to  tam- 
per with  ;  and  whatever  difficulties  remain  to  baffle 
our  inquisitiveness,  let  them  teach  us  humility,  and 
remind  us  that  "  secret  things  belong  unto  the  Lord  our 
God;"  Deut.  xxix.  29;  and  that  it  is  not  to  believers 
the  description  ought  to  apply,  "  intruding  into  those 
things  which  he  hath  not  seen,  vainly  puffed  up  by  his 
fleshy  mind."     Col.  ii.  18. 

That  devils  continued  to  pollute  the  land  of  Canaan, 
and  to  exercise  their  wicked  ingenuity  in  leading  the 


SATANIC    CUNNING.  53 

Lord's  people  to  transgress,  we  have  sufficient  testi- 
mony. Ezekiel  sets  before  us  an  awful  picture  of  the 
abominations  committed  in  Jerusalem  by  those  prac- 
tices which  the  Lord  had  denounced  as  sacrificing  unto 
devils.  In  the  eighth  chapter  of  his  prophecy,  he  re- 
lates what  he  saw  in  the  "  chambers  of  imagery  :" 
followed  by  a  description  of  the  vengeance  to  be  taken  : 
and  Zechariah,  prophesying  of  mercy  to  be  shown 
when  the  Lord  shall  heal  the  breach  of  his  people, 
has  this  promise  :  "  And  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  tbat 
day,  saith  the  Lord  of  Hosts,  that  I  will  cut  off  the 
names  of  idols  out  of  the  land,  and  they  shall  be  no 
more  remembered  :  and  also,  I  will  cause  the  prophets 
and  the  unclean  spirits  to  pass  out  of  the  land."  Zech. 
xiii.  2.  By  what  artifices  these  evil  creatures  opposed 
the  work  of  God,  we  are,  however,  far  more  distinctly 
shown  in  the  New  Testament,  where  we  find  their  na- 
ture, operations,  and  objects  laid  open  in  a  wonderful 
manner  by  Him  who  came  upon  the  strong  man,  took 
away  his  armour  wherein  he  trusted,  and  divided  his 
spoils. 

One  specimen  of  deep  cunning  is  given  in  the  very- 
first  instance,  particularly  related  of  a  case  of  posses- 
sion :  it  occurs  in  the  eighth  chapter  of  St.  Matthew's 
gospel.  "And  when  he  was  come  to  the  other  side 
of  the  country  of  the  Gergesenes,  there  met  him  two 
possessed  with  devils,  coming  out  of  the  tombs,  exceed- 
ing fierce,  so  that  no  man  might  pass  that  way.  And 
behold,  they  cried  out,  saying,  What  have  we  to  do 
with  thee,  Jesus,  thou  Son  of  God  ?  Art  thou  come 
hither  to  torment  us  before  the  time  ?  And  there  was 
5* 


54  OF  EVIL  spirits  : 

a  good  way  off  from  them  a  herd  of  many  swine 
feeding ;  so  the  devils  besought  him,  saying,  If  thou 
cast  us  out,  suffer  us  to  go  away  into  the  herd  of  swine. 
And  he  said  unto  them,  Go.  And  when  they  were 
come  out  they  went  into  the  herd  of  swine:  and  be- 
hold the  whole  herd  of  swine  ran  violently  down  a 
steep  place  into  the  sea,  and  perished  in  the  waters." 
Here  we  see,  first,  the  deprecatory  cry  of  the  fiends ; 
acknowledging  the  omnipotence  of  the  Lord,  but  plead- 
ing that  the  set  time  for  tormenting  them  in  the  fiery 
pit  was  not  yet  come.  They  are  good  calculators  of 
prophetic  periods,  and  perfectly  knew  that  their  time 
on  earth  had  not  expired.  Next,  they  made  a  request, 
the  drift  of  which  we  could  not  have  seen  but  for  the 
effects  that  followed  its  success.  They  asked  leave  to 
enter  the  swine  ;  blessed  be  God  !  Satan  has  no  power 
even  over  unclean  beasts,  unless  it  be  especially  given 
of  the  Lord.  Having  permission,  they  instantly  avail- 
ed themselves  of  it  by  drowning  every  one  of  the  herd 
in  the  sea  ;  and  by  this  manoeuvre  they  so  alarmed  the 
neighbouring  inhabitants,  who  could  expect  no  less 
from  such  a  beginning  than  that  the  unknown  visiter 
would  destroy  all  their  property,  as  to  prompt  a  general 
request  that  he  would  depart  out  of  their  coasts.  Thus 
for  the  time,  was  the  dreaded  gospel  averted  from  a 
whole  city,  by  the  exceeding  craft  of  these  devils ; 
and  in  permitting  their  vile  contrivance  to  succeed,  the 
Lord  mercifully  provided  a  rich  warning  lesson  for  his 
church,  to  the  end  of  time.  May  we  all  have  grace 
to  use  it  effectually  in  our  wrestling  contest  with  the 
principalities  and  powers  of  darkness ! 


SATANIC    CUNNING.  55 

Another  mode  of  undermining  where  they  durst  not 
openly  attack,  was  practised  against  the  teaching  of 
the  Apostles.  In  Acts  xvi.  16,  we  have  the  account. 
"  And  it  came  to  pass,  as  we  went  to  prayer,  a  certain 
damsel  possessed  with  a  spirit  of  divination  met  us, 
which  brought  her  masters  much  gain  by  soothsaying ; 
the  same  followed  Paul  and  us,  saying,  These  men 
are  the  servants  of  the  Most  High  God,  which  show 
unto  us  the  way  of  salvation.  And  this  she  did  many 
days.  But  Paul,  being  grieved,  turned  and  said  to  the 
spirit,  I  command  thee  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  to 
come  out  of  her.  And  he  came  out  the  same  hour." 
In  this,  as  in  the  preceding  case,  the  devil's  device  is 
shown  by  its  fruits.  His  object  in  thus  following  and 
publicly  testifying  to  the  divine  origin  of  the  Apostle's 
teaching  was  probably  two-fold.  While  allowed  to 
continue  it,  he  might  expect  to  cast  a  slur  on  the  doc- 
trine in  which  a  devil  could  thus  approvingly  seem  to 
acquiesce,  while  a  professed  witch  appeared  as  a  daily 
follower  of  those  who  taught  it ;  and  if  he  provoked 
them  to  expel  him,  he  might  justly  calculate  on  the 
vengeance  of  her  masters,  which  overtook  them  im- 
mediately, and  before  night  they  were  scourged,  im- 
prisoned, and  made  fast  in  the  stocks.  Seeing  that  all 
this  was  through  the  cunning  of  a  devil,  it  is  peculiar- 
ly delightful  to  proceed  in  the  story,  and  find  the 
whole  overruled  of  God  to  the  conversion  of  the  keeper 
of  the  prison,  and  all  his  household,  the  shame  of  the 
unjust  magistrates  who  had  beaten  them,  and  the  hon- 
ourable acquittal  and  dismission  of  the  Apostles  from 
the  place ;  where,  no  doubt,  events  so  extraordinary 


56  OF    EVIL    SPIRITS  : 

were  blessed  to  the  conviction  of  many  ;  the  church  at 
Philippi  being,  as  we  find  by  his  epistle  to  it,  an  es- 
pecial cause  of  thankfulness  and  joy  to  Paul. 

Another  instance  had  previously  occurred,  where  a 
sorcerer,  one  who  avowedly  held  communion  with  evil 
spirits,  and  through  their  workings  in  him  merited  the 
severe  rebuke,  "  O  full  of  all  subtlety  and  all  mis- 
chief, thou  child  of  the  devil,  thou  enemy  of  all  right- 
eousness,'"' had  endeavoured  to  turn  away  a  Roman 
deputy  from  the  faith ;  and  here  the  Lord  manifested 
himself  by  showing  that  all  the  sorceries  of  Elymas, 
and  his  pretended  sanctity,  could  not  avert  from  him 
the  stroke  of  instant  blindness,  which,  to  mark  it  as  a 
direct  visitation  from  on  high,  was  announced  by  Paul 
the  moment  before  he  overtook  him ;  and  this  wonder 
confirmed  the  deputy  in  the  faith.  Acts  xiii.  6 — 12. 
One  more  instance  we  have  in  Simon  Magus,  who  was 
also  a  sorcerer,  and  who  seemed  to  have  been  deliver- 
ed from  the  dominion  of  evil  spirits,  by  the  preaching 
of  the  gospel,  being  able  to  make  such  a  confession  of 
faith  as  entitled  him  to  baptism.  In  him  the  devil 
sought  to  bring  a  deadly  disgrace  on  the  Church  of 
Christ,  by  obtaining  the  power  of  conferring  the  mi- 
raculous gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost  on  whomsoever  he 
would ;  or  if  the  idea  of  being  able  to  buy  the  gift  of 
God  with  money  appear  too  foolish  to  have  been  really 
entertained  by  a  spiritual  being,  we  may  suppose  that 
he  calculated  on  making  the  very  proposal,  from  a 
professed  worshipper,  redound  to  the  disadvantage  of 
that  church.  In  either  case  he  was  baffled.  Peter 
was  enabled  to  "  perceive  "  that  this  seeming  convert 


SATANIC    CUNNING.  57 

was  still  in  the  gall  of  bitterness  and  the  bond  of  ini- 
quity, and  rebuked  him  openly  ;  while  the  record  of 
the  attempt  serves  to  this  day  as  an  invaluable  preser- 
vative against  certain  unscriptural  views  of  baptism 
that  have  crept  into  the  church. 

By  considering  in  how  many  instances  under  the 
Old  Testament  dispensation,  characters  appeared,  and 
events  occurred  parallel  to  these  which  meet  us  un- 
der the  clearer  light  of  the  New,  we  may  trace  such 
hindrances  and  stumblings  among  the  saints  of  old  to 
the  deep-laid  plots  of  the  rulers  of  the  darkness  of  this 
world ;  and  by  such  an  enlarged  view  of  the  enemy's 
sphere  of  action,  we  may  learn  to  be  more  earnest  in 
praying  (hat  "  all  those  evils  which  the  craft  and  subtle- 
ty of  the  devil  or  man  worketh  against  us  may  be 
brought  to  naught;"  and  may  also  become  more  watch- 
fully alert  in  seeking  to  baffle  his  devices. 


SATANIC  CRUELTY. 

It  seems  almost  superfluous  to  devote  a  section  to  this 
subject,  seeing  that  everything  we  can  name  respect- 
ing Satan  and  his  angels,  comes  under  the  head  of  cru- 
elty. From  the  first  attempt  of  the  devil  to  seduce 
Eve  from  her  allegiance,  his  object  has  always  been 
to  plunge  the  whole  human  race  into  the  bottomless 
pit,  which  he  knows  to  be  his  own  portion,  "  the  lake 
which  burneth  with  fire  and  brimstone."  Rev.  xxi. 
8.  But  though  he  generally  tempts  men  with  the 
promise,  or  possession  of  present  enjoyment,  alluring 
them  to  sell  their  souls  for  worldly  profit,  still,  when- 
ever he  can  have  his  own  way,  he  produces  present 
calamities,  and  heaps  upon  his  wretched  victims  trib- 
ulation and  anguish  as  well  in  possession  as  in  pros- 
pect. 

On  many  occasions  noted  in  the  scripture,  God,  by 
his  own  arm,  or  by  his  holy  angels,  has  punished  the 
transgressor ;  but  we  find  him  in  the  majority  of  in- 
stances, giving  offenders  into  the  hand  of  Satan,  or  of 
wicked  men  who  act  under'  his  influence,  for  punish- 
ment.    It  is  mentioned  by  the  Psalmist,  though  not  by 


SATANIC    CRUELTY.  59 

Moses,  that  among  the  infractions  dealt  forth  to  the  ty- 
rannic Egyptians,  this  was  the  greatest ;  and  the  force 
of  the  expression  is  very  remarkable :  after  detailing 
the  plagues  of  blood,  of  flies,  of  frogs,  of  caterpillars, 
of  locusts,  of  hail,  frost,  and  thunderbolts,  the  inspired 
writer  goes  on : — "  He  cast  upon  them  the  fierceness 
of  his  anger,  wrath,  and  indignation,  and  trouble,  by 
sending  evil  angels  among  them."  Psalm  lxxviii.  49. 
When  Satan  sends  an  evil  angel,  he  will  sorely  afflict 
the  object  of  his  mission  ;  but  when  God  looses  the  re- 
straints of  these  malignant  creatures,  and  bids  them 
smite,  it  is  terrible  indeed  ! 

We  must  again  recall  that  most  important  truth, 
that  whatsoever  worship  is  rendered  to  any  but  God,  is 
rendered  to  devils ;  and  we  shall  be  appalled  at  the 
scene  of  present,  temporal  cruelty  and  suffering  laid 
open  as  the  direct  work  of  evil  spirits.  Moloch,  the 
great  idol  of  the  heathen  among  whom  Israel  sojourned, 
was  worshipped  by  the  immolation  of  children,  butch- 
ered by  the  knife  and  by  fire  ;  and  it  is  awful  to  think 
that  the  Lord's  own  people  were  ensnared  to  join  in  this 
frightful  abomination.  "  They  sacrificed  their  sons 
and  their  daughters  unto  devils,  and  shed  innocent 
blood,  even  the  blood  of  their  sons  and  of  their  daugh- 
ters, whom  they  sacrificed  unto  the  idols  of  Canaan ; 
and  the  land  was  polluted  with  blood."  Psalm  cvi. 
37,  38.  If  the  Holy  Ghost  had  not  caused  this  to  be 
written  by  inspiration  for  our  warning,  we  could  not 
imagine  the  possibility  of  Satanic  power,  cunning,  and 
cruelty,  reaching  to  this  point :  that  parents  should  be 
willing  to  take  their  tender,  helpless  babes,  and  de. 


60  OF  evil   spirits: 

liver  them  over  to  a  most  agonizing  form  of  assassina- 
tion, as  an  act  of  homage  to  the  powers  of  hell,  while 
they  themselves  were  actually  fed,  day  by  day,  with 
manna  from  heaven  sent  down  by  the  merciful  God, 
who  quenched  their  hourly  thirst  with  water  flowing 
from  a  stony  rock,  and  miraculously  following  them 
through  the  wilderness  ;  where  every  step  of  their  way 
was  marked  by  some  wonder  of  supernatural  care,  and 
all  endearing  love.  Here,  indeed,  must  vile  human 
nature  lay  its  unclean  lip  in  the  dust;  .and  here  may 
proud  man  learn  to  tremble  at  the  dreadful  sovereignty 
exercised  by  Satan  over  all  who  are  not  translated 
from  the  power  of  darkness  into  the  kingdom  of  God, 
by  living  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

Although  every  form  of  idolatry,  or  devil-worship, 
was  not  so  murderous  as  that  of  Moloch,  cruelty  was, 
and  is,  the  distinguishing  feature  of  all.  In  a  passage 
already  quoted,  when  the  Lord  tells  his  faithful  Church 
of  Smyrna  that  he  will,  for  the  trial  of  their  faith,  give 
Satan  power  over  some  of  them,  the  consequences  are, 
of  course,  to  be  imprisonment  and  tribulation.  We 
may  judge  from  the  manner  of  his  dealing  with  Job, 
what  use  Satan  naturally  makes  of  any  such  indul- 
gence. Calamities  were  heaped  on  the  patient  man 
faster  than  the  tongues  of  his  messengers  could  utter 
them.  Blood  and  slaughter,  burning  and  crushing, 
were  the  immediate  indications  of  the  devil's  temporary 
authority  over  his  possessions  and  his  family;  and 
when  he  was  permitted  to  touch  the  body  of  his  victim, 
he  left  him  no  sound  part,  from  the  crown  of  his  head 
to  the  sole  of  his  foot,  but  transformed  every  particle 


SATANIC    CRUELTY.  61 

of  healthful  flesh  into  a  loathsome  and  agonized  sore. 
Not  satisfied  with  this,  he  stirred  up  the  very  person 
who  should  have  been  the  soother  of  his  sorrows  and 
the  strengthener  of  his  faith,  to  prompt  the  self  com- 
mission of  what  Satan  himself  was  withheld  from  do- 
ing ;  for  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  her  wicked  sug- 
gestion to  "curse  God,  and  die,"  implied  the  act  of 
self-murder,  to  be  committed  in  blasphemous  defiance 
of  the  Lord.  But  here  the  adversary  prevailed  not ; 
God  had  permitted  him  to  break  the  hedge  set  about 
Job's  temporal  possessions  and  comforts,  but  his  life 
and  his  soul  were  still  secured.  Failing  in  this,  with 
what  refinement  of  prolonged  cruelty  did  the  arch 
fiend  instigate  his  professed  comforters  to  help  forward 
Job's  affliction. 

Man's  destruction  is  indeed  the  regular  employment 
of  atan.  The  Apostle  Peter  tells  us,  "  Your  adver- 
sary the  devil,  as  a  roaring  lion,  walketh  about  seek- 
ing whom  he  may  devour."  1  Pet.  v.  8.  Like  "the 
young  lions  roaring  after  their  food,"  he  prowls  about, 
hoping  to  find  some  one  forsaken  of  God,  and  left  as  a 
prey  to  his  teeth.  That  this  does  sometimes  happen, 
even  with  reference  to  the  Lord's  people,  we  are 
clearly  told.  Paul  expresses  it,  when  directing  the 
Corinthian  Church  how  to  act  towards  a  heinous  of- 
fender, who  having  given  place  to  the  devil,  was  now 
doomed  to  experience  the  nature  of  that  service  for 
which  he  had  cast  away  the  easy  yoke  of  Christ.  "  I 
verily,  as  absent  in  body,  but  present  in  spirit,  have 
judged  already,  as  though  I  were  present,  concerning 
him  that  hath  done  this  deed.  In  the  name  of  our  Lord 
6 


62  OF    EVIL    SPIRITS  I 

Jesus  Christ,  when  ye  are  gathered  together,  and  my 
spirit,  with  the  power  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  to  de- 
liver such  a  one  unto  Satan  for  the  destruction  of  the 
flesh,  that  the  spirit  may  be  saved  in  the  day  of  the 
Lord  Jesus."  1  Cor.  v.  3 — 5.  It  appears,  however, 
that  on  giving  proof  of  very  deep  sorrow,  and  unfeigned 
repentance,  the  transgressor  was  received  again,  after 
experiencing,  no  doubt,  for  a  time,  what  it  was  to  be 
under  the  temporal  power  of  the  evil  one.  Another 
case  of  this  sort  is  also  mentioned  by  the  same  apostle. 
"  Holding  faith,  and  a  good  conscience ;  which  some 
having  put  away,  concerning  faith  have  made  ship- 
wreck;  of  whom  is  Hymengeus  and  Alexander ;  whom 
I  have  delivered  unto  Satan,  that  they  may  learn  not 
to  blaspheme."  1  Tim.  i.  19,  20.  It  would  appear 
from  this,  that  a  temporary  endurance  of  the  devil's 
power  is  sometimes  seen  needful  for  the  perverse  chil- 
dren of  God,  in  order  to  terrify  them  by  the  foretaste 
of  what  an  eternal  subjection  to  so  cruel  a  master  must 
be:  and  Satan  knows  the  length  of  his  chain,  he  is 
probably  quite  aware  when  correction,  not  destruction, 
is  all  that  he  is  licensed  to  inflict.  Accordingly  he 
makes  the  most  of  his  time,  not  lulling  and  soothing 
them  in  their  guilt,  as  with  those  who  are  wholly  his 
own,  but  striving,  as  he  did  with  Job,  to  render  them 
desperate  under  the  rod,  that  they  may  either  run  into 
despairing  sin,  "  curse  God,  and  die,"  or  else,  as  was 
near  being  the  case  with  the  Corinthian  offender,  may 
utterly  faint  and  perish,  being  "  swallowed  up  of  over- 
much sorrow." 

The  Bible  does  not  specify  the  particular  cruelties 


SATANIC    CRUELTY.  63 

practised  under  various  forms  of  idolatry  ;  but  from 
what  is  perpetrated  in  the  dark  places  of  the  earth  at 
this  day,  we  may  judge  of  Satan's  habitual  proceed- 
ings among  his  worshipers.  Human  sacrifices,  ac- 
companied with  circumstances  of  most  horrible  barbar- 
ity, are  common  in  many  parts  of  the  world :  mothers 
are  required  to  butcher  their  tender  infants,  children 
their  aged  parents,  and  vast  numbers  of  all  ages  are 
frequently  put  to  death,  as  an  offering  to  the  spirit  of  a 
deceased  ruler,  or  to  be  attendants  on  his  soul  in  ano- 
ther world.  Self-immolation  is  enforced  as  a  sacred 
duty;  and  if  not  willingly  performed,  the  reluctant 
victim  is  murdered.  On  harmless  animals  most  cruel 
tortures  are  inflicted,  as  an  acceptable  service  to  the 
devils  whom  the  heathen  seek  to  propitiate ;  and  in 
that  nominally  Christian  system,  of  which  the  "  com- 
ing is  after  the  working  of  Satan,"  (2  Thess.  ii.  9,) 
whose  teachers  are  '•'  seducing  spirits,"  and  its  distin- 
guishing requirements  "doctrines  of  devils,"  (1  Tim. 
iv.  1,)  we  find  the  Satanic  feature  of  wanton  cruelty 
developed  in  full  deformity.  The  rack  is  its  main  in- 
strument of  conversion  to  an  idolatrous  faith  ;  and  the 
flames  its  award  to  such  as  will  not  venture  to  en- 
counter everlasting  burnings.  Massacre  on  a  scale 
only  bounded  by  the  number  of  its  defenceless  victims, 
and  the  limits  of  its  physical  power,  persecution,  to  the 
utmost  stretch  of  human  endurance,  these  are  the  lot 
of  its  opponents ;  while  for  the  members  of  its  own  sys- 
tem it  has  the  discipline  of  the  scourge,  of  famishing 
hunger,  of  bodily  austerity  in  every  imaginable  shape ; 
and  a  merciless  rending  apart  of  every  tie  that  God 


64  OF  evil  spirits: 

has  formed  to  sweeten  the  cup  of  human  life.  In  all 
this  we  should  recognise  the  cruel  hand  of  him  who 
was  a  murderer  from  the  beginning,  even  had  not  the 
word  of  God  so  distinctly  set  him  forth  as  the  framer 
and  upholder  of  Popery,  as  to  warrant  our  numbering 
among  Scripture  evidences,  what  the  prophetic  page 
describes  in  the  passages  already  quoted  from  St.  Paul ; 
and  in  those  of  John,  when  describing  the  Beast  which 
he  saw  rising  out  of  the  sea.  He  says,  "  The  dragon 
gave  him  his  power,  and  his  seat,  and  great  authority." 
Rev.  xiii.  2.  In  the  preceding  chapter  we  are  told 
(ver.  9)  that  the  dragon  is  "  that  old  serpent,  called 
the  devil,  and  Satan,  which  deceiveth  the  whole  world  :" 
and  again,  of  the  Beast  to  whom  he  gave  his  power,  it 
is  written,  "It  was  given  unto  him  to  make  war  with 
the  saints  and  to  overcome  them,"  xiii.  7.  The  pre- 
dictions of  the  Bible  are  no  less  certain  than  its  his- 
torical relations ;  and  if  we  desire  an  instance  of  the 
sustained  cruelty  of  Satan,  manifested  through  a  space 
of  twelve  hundred  years  and  upwards,  not  among  bar- 
barous people  who  never  heard  of  the  true  God,  but  in 
the  heart,  and  throughout  the  extent  of  Christendom, 
we  must  look  at  Popery — the  Babylon  of  prophecy, 
concerning  whom  it  is  said,  "  Babylon  the  great  .  .  . 
is  become  the  habitation  of  devils,  and  the  hold  of  every 
foul  spirit,  and  a  cage  of  every  unclean  and  hateful 
bird."  Rev.  xviii.  2. 

The  cases  of  those  possessed  with  devils  is  repre- 
sented as  being  nearly  always  one  of  great  suffering. 
The  exceptions  seem  to  be  those  instances  where  the 
infernal  inmate  was  a  welcome  confederate,  for  the 


SATANIC    CRUELTY.  65 

sake  of  such  supernatural  powers  as  he  could  confer. 
Such  was  the  "  spirit  of  divination  "  possessed  by  the 
damsel  who  followed  Paul  and  Silas ;  the  "  familiar 
spirits  "  that  enabled  Simon  Magus,  Ely  mas,  and  oth- 
ers, to  practise  sorcery  ;  and  the  awful  entering  in  of 
Satan  himself  into  Judas  Iscariot,  who  went  and  com- 
pleted his  tremendous  bargain  under  that  devilish  in- 
fluence. Among  the  many  descriptions  of  demoniacal 
cruelty  inflicted  on  the  poor  creatures  who  were  brought 
to  our  Lord  or  to  his  apostles,  we  may  notice  the  daugh- 
ter of  the  Syro-Phenician  woman,  who  was  "  grievously 
vexed  with  a  devil.'"  Matt.  xv.  22.  The  poor  boy 
whose  father  gave  so  piteous  a  description  of  his  suffer- 
ings, afterwards  confirmed  it  in  the  presence  of  our  Lord. 
"  Master,  I  have  brought  unto  thee  my  son  which  hath 
a  dumb  spirit;  and  whensoever  he  taketh  him,  he 
teareth  him :  and  he  foameth  and  gnasheth  with  his 
teeth,  and  pineth  away."  Mark  ix.  17,  18.  "And 
oftentimes  it  hath  cast  him  into  the  fire,  and  into  the 
waters,  to  destroy  him/'  v.  22.  "  And  the  spirit  cried, 
and  rent  him  sore,  and  came  out  of  him ,  and  he  was 
as  one  dead;  insomuch  that  many  said,  he  is  dead;" 
v.  26.  The  description  also,  as  given  by  the  same 
evangelist,  of  the  demoniac  from  whom  the  devils 
passed  into  the  swine,  is  very  awful.  "A  man  with 
an  unclean  spirit,  who  had  his  dwelling  among  the 
tombs  ;  and  no  man  could  bind  him,  no,  not  with 
chains :  because  he  had  been  often  bound  with  fetters 
and  chains,  and  the  chains  had  been  plucked  asunder 
by  him,  and  the  fetters  broken  in  pieces  :  neither  could 
any  man  tame  him.  And  always,  night  and  day,  he 
6* 


66  OF  EVIL  spirits: 

was  in  the  mountains,  and  in  the  tombs,  crying,  and 
cutting  himself  with  stones."  Mark  v.  2 — 5.  Again, 
we  read,  "  There  was  a  woman  which  had  a  spirit  of 
infirmity  eighteen  years,  and  was  bowed  together,  and 
could  in  no  wise  lift  up  herself."  Luke  xiii.  11 :  and 
that  this  was  a  visitation  of  Satanic  cruelty,  our  Lord 
in  express  terms  reveals.  "  Ought  not  this  woman, 
being  a  daughter  of  Abraham,  whom  Satan  hath  bound 
lo  these  eighteen  years,  be  loosed  from  this  bond  on 
the  Sabbath  day  ?"  v.  16.  We  read,  too,  of  "  one  pos- 
sessed with  a  devil,  blind  and  dumb."  Matt.  xii.  22. 
The  last  act  of  these  fiends  was  always,  when  permit- 
ted, a  cruel  one  :  they  "  rent"  or  "  threw  down  "  their 
victims,  when  departing,  though  restrained  from  fatally 
injuring  them.  Thus  it  was  with  the  man  in  the  syn- 
agogue, who  had  a  spirit  of  an  unclean  devil,  which 
testified,  in  evident  terror,  to  our  Lord's  divinity ;  for 
he  "cried  out  with  a  loud  voice,  saying,  Let  us  alone ; 
what  have  we  to  do  with  thee,  thou  Jesus  of  Nazareth  ? 
Art  thou  come  to  destroy  us  ?  I  know  thee  who  thou 
art;  the  Holy  One  of  God.  And  Jesus  rebuked  him, 
saying,  Hold  thy  peace,  and  come  out  of  him.  And 
when  the  devil  had  thrown  him  down  in  the  midst,  he 
came  out  of  him,  and  hurt  him  not."  Luke  iv.  33,  34, 
35.  When  Paul,  through  the  abundance  of  revela- 
tions vouchsafed  to  him,  was  in  danger  of  becoming 
puffed  up,  a  chastening  hand  was  laid  on  him,  by  giv- 
ing Satan  power  to  afflict  his  body,  in  some  way  not 
particularized.  He  calls  it  "  a  thorn  in  the  flesh ; 
the  messenger  of  Satan  sent  to  buffet  me."  2  Cor.  xii. 
7.    It  was  grievous,  for  he  thrice  besought  the  Lord, 


SATANIC    CRUELTY.  67 

that  it  might  depart  from  him  :  it  was  visible,  and 
humbling  to  human  pride,  for  he  gratefully  mentions 
it  to  the  praise  of  the  Galatians,  that  it  did  not  lessen 
their  regard  for  him,  or  their  reverence  for  his  mission. 
"Ye  know  how,  through  infirmity  of  the  flesh,  I 
preached  the  gospel  to  you  at  first :  and  my  tempta- 
tion, which  was  in  my  flesh,  ye  despised  not,  nor  reject- 
ed ;  but  received  me  as  an  angel  of  God,  even  as  Christ 
Jesus."    Gal.  iv.  13,  14. 

In  all  these,  and  many  other  instances,  we  find,  that 
the  power  of  Satan,  to  whatever  extent  it  is  carried,  is 
always  cruelly  oppressive  :  Peter  testifies  of  our  Lord 
Jesus,  that  he  "  went  about  doing  good,  and  healing 
all  that  were  oppressed  of  the  devil."  Acts  x.  38. 
But  grievous  as  were  the  sufferings  that  Satan  inflict- 
ed on  the  bodies  of  those  over  whom  he  had  liberty  to 
tyrannize,  they  were  as  nothing  compared  with  what 
he  can  do  when  assaulting  the,  mind.  We  do  not  here 
speak  of  such  as  knowingly  act  upon  his  vile  sugges- 
tions, but  of  those  who  are  the  unconscious,  or  defence- 
less objects  of  his  covert  attacks.  On  this  subject  the 
book  of  God  does  not  furnish  us  with  descriptions  of 
many  individual  cases ;  it  rather  shows  us  the  ma- 
chinery at  work,  and  enables  us,  each  from  his  own 
experience,  to  judge  of  the  universal  results.  There 
is  not  an  impulse  of  our  nature,  nor  a  faculty  of  our 
minds,  nor  an  inclination  of  our  hearts — there  is  not  a 
duty,  there  is  not  an  enjoyment,  there  is  not  a  trouble, 
but  Satan  both  can  and  will  lay  hold  of  it  to  tempt,  to 
harass,  to  oppress  our  souls.  Hence,  from  age  to  age, 
every  believer,  how  great  soever  his  privileges,  and 


68  OF    EVIL    SPIRITS  ! 

how  happy  soever  his  experience,  must  often  take  up 
the  apostle's  language,  and  secretly  confess,  that  "  we 
that  are  in  this  tabernacle,  do  groan,  being  burdened." 
2  Cor.  v.  4.  And  the  nearer  a  Christian  endeavours 
to  follow  the  steps  of  Paul,  in  active  employment  for 
the  Lord's  cause  among  men,  the  more  surely  will  he 
have  to  join  in  his  testimony,  who  spoke  so  touchingly 
of  his  inward  trials,  ''serving  the  Lord  with  all  hu- 
mility of  mind,  and  with  many  tears,  and  temptations." 
Acts  xx.  19. 

In  what  manner  Satan  afflicted  the  affectionate  Pe- 
ter is  fully  detailed  ;  and  no  one  who  loves  the  Lord 
Jesus  can  for  a  moment  doubt,  that  the  agonies  of  his 
mind  were  far  greater  and  more  intolerable  than  any 
bodily  suffering  whatever  could  possibly  have  been. 
He  was  grieved  to  hear  his  adored  Master  predict  the 
desertion  of  his  disciples,  and  said,  "  Though  all  men 
should  be  offended  because  of  thee,  yet  will  I  never 
be  offended."  Matt.  xxvi.  33.  Our  Lord,  in  reply, 
assured  him,  that  before  the  cock  next  crew  he  should 
thrice  have  denied  him  ;  and  Peter,  as  yet  little  aware 
of  the  power  of  his  invisible  adversary,  and  his  own 
miserable  weakness,  reiterated  the  confident  declara- 
tion, "  Though  I  should  die  with  thee,  yet  will  1  not 
deny  thee;"  v.  35.  St.  Luke  records  that  the  Lord 
also  addressed  him,  "  Simon,  Simon,  behold,  Satan 
hath  desired  to  have  you,  that  he  may  sift  you  as 
wheat;"  Luke  xxii.  31 ;  thus  plainly  declaring  whose 
was  the  cruel  work ;  and  when,  after  forsaking  that 
gentle,  loving  Master,  leaving  him  in  the  hands  of  his 
foes,  and  cautiously,  at  a  safe  distance,  stealing  after, 


SATANIC    CRUELTY.  69 

to  watch  what  should  become  of  him  whom  he  had  just 
declared  he  would  follow  to  prison  and  to  death,  the 
too  confident  servant  was  led  by  the  devil  to  deny  that 
he  even  knew  his  Lord,  and  to  confirm  the  lie  with 
oaths  and  curses  :  how  dreadful  must  have  been  his 
feelings  at  the  moment — how  agonizing  the  tortures  of 
his  conscience,  when  the  look  of  his  compassionate 
Lord,  suddenly  turned  upon  him  at  the  crowing  of  the 
cock,  brought  his  sin  home  to  his  bosom  with  all  its 
aggravations !  He  could  not  fall  at  the  feet  of  the 
captive — he  could  by  no  possibility  approach  him 
through  the  phalanx  of  weapons  that  hemmed  him  in. 
He  could  not  cause  the  voice  of  his  passionate  sup- 
plication to  reach  that  patient  ear  ;  nor  could  he  hear 
from  the  beloved  lip  the  word  of  pardon.  Probably 
the  countenance  turned  upon  him  with  that  heart- 
breaking look,  was  already  bruised  by  the  ruffian  stroke 
of  his  persecutors ;  and,  though  we  may  fairly  believe 
that  the  power  of  God,  acting  without  a  word  spoken, 
at  that  moment  drove  Satan  from  his  diabolical  work 
in  the  mind  of  Peter,  with  what  unmixed  anguish  of 
soul  must  the  apostle  have  recalled  his  cruel  desertion, 
and  insulting  denial  of  his  blessed  Master :  while  John, 
who  had  professed  nothing  more  than  others,  was  bold- 
ly exposing  himself  to  the  peril  of  a  recognition  in  the 
midst  of  the  judgment  hall.  All  had  forsaken  Jesus 
and  fled,  "that  the  Scriptures  might  be  fulfilled ;"  and 
for  this  no  Satanic  influence  was  necessary.  The 
weakness  of  human  nature,  wholly  unassisted  by  di- 
vine strength,  would  suffice  to  hurry  a  handful  of  un- 
armed men  from  the  presence  of  a  hostile  band,  with 


70  OF    EVIL    SPIRITS: 

weapons  and  torches,  who  had  taken  captive  their 
leader,  the  root  of  all  their  confidence.  This  panic 
over,  John  was  enabled  instantly  to  return  and  to  tread, 
as  near  as  he  could  approach  him,  the  steps  of  his 
Lord :  so  presenting  a  contrast  to  Peter's  treachery, 
which  made  the  latter  at  once  inexcusable  and  doubly 
odious  in  the  eyes  of  the  unhappy  culprit  himself.  To 
us  the  story  is  most  important :  it  was  Satan's  hour, 
as  the  Lord  had  declared.  The  prince  of  this  world 
came,  and  had  nothing  in  Him ;  but  in  every  one  of 
us,  he  has  enough  to  furnish  a  broad  ground  for  any 
temptation  that  he  may  choose  to  bring ;  and  the  fero- 
cious cruelty  of  his  dealing  against  the  heart  and  con- 
science of  the  poor,  weak  fisherman,  at  that  season  of 
bitter  sorrow  and  irreparable  bereavement,  may  teach 
us  a  lesson  of  continual  watchfulness  and  prayer,  that 
we  may  be  able  to  resist  the  wiles  of  the  devil. 

Cruelty  is  altogether  a  Satanic  quality  ;  it  could 
not  exist  but  for  him.  God  is  love,  and  all  that  God 
made  was  innocent,  lovely,  loving,  till  sin  entered  in, 
to  defile,  and  Satan  got  power  to  destroy.  In  testimo- 
ny to  this,  we  have  the  predictions  that  point  to  the 
period  when  Satan  shall  be  bound,  and  earth  be  whol- 
ly free  from  his  influence.  Thus  cruelty  in  all  its 
forms  shall  disappear.  "  Nation  shall  not  lift  up 
sword  against  nation,  neither  shall  they  learn  war  any 
more."  Isaiah  ii.  4.  "The  wolf  also  shall  dwell  t 
with  the  lamb,  and  the  leopard  shall  lie  down  with 
the  kid ;  and  the  calf,  and  the  fatling,  and  the  young 
lion  together,  and  a  little  child  shall  lead  them.  And 
the  cow  and  the  bear  shall  feed — their  young  ones 


SATANIC    CRUELTY.  71 

shall  lie  down  together  ;  and  the  lion  shall  eat  straw 
like  the  ox.  And  the  sucking  child  shall  play  on  the 
hole  of  the  asp,  and  the  weaned  child  shall  put  his 
hand  on  the  cockatrice's  den.  They  shall  not  hurt 
nor  destroy  in  all  my  holy  mountain."  Isaiah  xi. 
6 — 9.  Such  will  be  the  consequence  of  removing  the 
originator  of  all  wickedness,  the  instigator  of  all  cru- 
elty from  the  earth,  and  re-establishing  the  reign  of 
love. 


VI. 

SATANIC  ACTIVITY. 

"  The  angel  of  the  bottomless  pit  "  is  called  Abaddon, 
or  Apollyon,  a  destroyer,  (Rev.  ix.  11,)  and  in  the 
work  of  destruction  his  activity  is  indeed  great.  When 
we  reflect  on  the  extent  of  our  globe,  on  the  number 
of  its  inhabitants — an  ever-changing,  ever-increasing 
population — during  almost  sixty  centuries,  and  the 
vast  varieties  of  mind,  temper,  disposition,  and  circum- 
stances that  prevent  the  history  of  any  one  among  them 
from  being  the  history  of  any  other  ;  when,  too,  we 
remember  that  of  all  these  multitudes  not  one  has  es- 
caped the  temptation  of  the  devil,  and  that  the  main 
bulk  of  the  whole  have  been  doing  his  will,  promoting 
his  interests,  and  acting  in  harmony  with  his  general 
design,  in  the  face  of  all  the  evidences  that  crowd 
around  them  to  the  being  and  power  of  a  holy,  just, 
and  beneficent  God — we  surely  must  discern  the  cha- 
racteristic of  amazing  activity,  in  him  who  keeps  so 
mighty  a  host  true  to  his  interests,  and  blind  to  their 
own. 

When  Noah  preached  righteousness  to  the  men  of 


SATANIC    ACTIVITY.  73 

his  generation,  and  verified  his  warnings  by  preparing 
before  their  eyes  the  ark  which  was  to  preserve  all 
flesh  that  did  not  perish  in  the  coming  deluge,  he  made 
not  a  single  convert  to  his  doctrine  ;  and  the  angel  of 
the  bottomless  pit  swept  off  the  whole  generation  of 
men  into  his  own  abode,  one  family  only  being  re- 
served. Scarcely  was  that  reserved  family  re-estab- 
lished on  earth's  surface,  when  he  beguiled  the  godly 
patriarch  into  an  act  of  intemperance  ;  and  this  trans- 
gression the  enemy  also  turned  to  such  advantage, 
that  it  laid  a  third  part  of  his  progeny  under  a  male- 
diction, of  which  Satan  well  knew  how  to  avail  him- 
self for  further  mischief.  He  fastened  on  the  posterity 
of  Canaan  with  peculiar  tenacity ;  and  plunged  them 
into  every  abomination.  So  far  as  the  Bible  traces 
their  history,  we  find  it  one  of  perpetual  crime  and  suf- 
fering ;  and  at  this  day,  their  condition,  physical,  mor- 
al, and  spiritual,  is  a  blot  on  the  name  and  nature  of 
man.  What  prodigious  activity  has  he  shown,  and 
how  extensively,  how  unremittingly  have  the  rulers  of 
the  darkness  of  this  world  debased  and  afflicted  the 
children  of  Canaan  ! 

Shem  had  a  blessing,  and  Japheth  also,  which  Satan 
could  not  hope  to  reverse ;  but  against  each  of  their 
races  he  has  prevailed  in  a  signal  manner,  and  to  this 
day  he  glories  in  the  triumph  achieved.  From  Shem, 
a  single  family  was  chosen,  to  be  blessed  above  all  the 
nations  of  the  earth,  and  to  be  a  universal  blessing. 
To  them  were  committed  the  laws  and  the  oracles  of 
God;  through  them  alone  was  He  revealed,  and  his 
will  made  known  to  the  world ;  and  above  all,  of  them 
7 


74  OF  EVIL  spirits  : 

was  to  come  that  seed  of  the  woman,  promised  even  in 
the  hour  of  man's  transgression,  who  should  bruise  the 
serpent's  head,  and  finally  destroy  him  and  his  works. 
The  history  of  Israel  is  a  continued  history  of  Satanic 
diligence :  he  led  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  into  acts 
of  most  sinful  dissimulation  ;  Sarah,  into  tyranny  and 
injustice ;  Rebecca  and  Leah  into  most  gross  deceit. 
In  them  he  indeed  exhibited  himself  as  the  father  of 
lies ;  and  in  the  sons  of  Jacob,  proved  himself  the 
"murderer  from  the  beginning."  He  stirred  up  the 
King  of  Egypt  to  destroy  their  progeny,  by  oppression, 
and  by  bloodshed ;  and  to  resist  the  delivering  hand 
of  the  Lord,  until  the  waters  of  the  Red  Sea  swept  the 
whole  mighty  host  of  Egypt  at  once  into  hell.  He  then 
followed  the  rescued  people  through  the  wilderness, 
exciting  them  to  every  species  of  provocation  that 
might  compel  the  Lord  to  destroy  them ;  and  succeed- 
ed even  in  drawing  them  to  forsake  the  worship  of 
their  own  God,  the  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth,  for  that 
of  devils.  While  Moses  was  absent,  receiving  from 
Jehovah  the  law  which  had  been  promulgated  with 
such  fearful  majesty  but  a  few  days  before  from  Mount 
Sinai,  and  while  the  mountain  yet  smoked  with  fire 
from  heaven,  Satan  drew  them  into  idolatry  the  most 
gross ;  even  surpassing  that  of  the  Egyptians ;  for 
what  they  worshiped  was  the  mysterious,  though  ir- 
rational creation  of  God,  while  the  Israelites  paid  di- 
vine homage  to  what,  but  the  day  before,  had  dangled 
from  their  own  ears.  The  terrible  example  made  did 
not  reclaim  them ;  they  went  on  to  transgress,  and 
were  soon  drawn  into   an  active  participation  of  the 


SATANIC    ACTIVITY.  75 

idolatrous  sin  of  the  Canaanites,  whom  they  had  been 
commanded  for  that  very  sin  to  destroy.  Balaam  had 
no  power  to  curse  Israel,  but  he  prevailed  by  Satan's 
subtlety,  to  make  them  curse  themselves.  After  many 
generations  had  passed  away,  each  exceeding  the  for- 
mer in  iniquity,  the  revolt  became  so  grievous,  that  ten 
out  of  the  twelve  tribes  were  cast  off;  delivered  up  to 
themselves  and  to  Satan,  and  whither  he  has  conduct- 
ed them,  or  where  they  now  abide,  no  man  knoweth. 

The  two  that  were  left,  instead  of  taking  warning 
by  their  dreadful  fate,  went  on  to  provoke  the  Lord  to 
jealousy,  until  they  too,  in  righteous  though  reluctant 
judgment,  were  delivered  into  the  hands  of  their  ene- 
mies for  severe  chastisement :  and  this  had  such  an  ef- 
fect on  them,  that,  as  a  body,  all  the  wiles  of  the  devil 
have  not  prevailed  again  to  involve  them  in  the  guilt 
of  idolatry.  This,  which  had  been  the  powerful  en- 
gine of  Satan  for  so  many  ages,  now  failed ;  and  did 
he  therefore  abandon  the  hopeless  task  of  inviting  them 
to  rebellion  ?  No  :  his  craft — which  may  the  Lord 
speedily  and  for  ever  confound ! — discovered  another 
mode  of  rendering  void  the  gracious  purposes  of  God 
toward  them :  and  he  gradually  substituted  for  the 
immutable,  perfect  law  of  Jehovah,  the  commandments 
of  vain,  foolish  men :  he  first  encumbered,  then  super- 
seded the  written  word,  by  means  of  traditions,  which, 
being  reduced  to  writing,  usurped  the  place  of  Holy 
Scripture ;  and  by  that  means  so  completely  blinded 
the  eyes,  and  hardened  the  heart  of  the  chosen  people, 
that  when,  at  the  appointed  time,  the  Deliverer,  the 
Messiah,  the  Lord  whom  they   looked  for,  suddenly 


76  OF    EVIL    SPIRITS  : 

came,  they  despised,  rejected,  hated,  and  crucified 
him  ! 

For  this,  destruction,  terrible  destruction,  came  up- 
on  them :  and  alas  !  not  to  the  pages  of  the  Bible,  but 
to  the  streets  of  our  own  cities,  the  hovels  of  our  own 
villages  must  we  turn,  to  know  what,  through  the  hate- 
ful devices  of  the  devil,  has  befallen  Israel — to  see 
how  the  Lord  hath  dealt  with  the  dearly-beloved  of  his 
soul.  The  contemplation  is  enough  to  weigh  down  the 
most  rejoicing  spirit,  in  bitter  grief  and  despondency : 
but,  blessed  be  the  Lord  !  this  dispensation  of  wrath  is 
well  nigh  passed  away.  "  Thou  shalt  arise,  and  have 
mercy  upon  Zion ;  for  the  time  to  favour  her,  yea  the 
set  time  is  come.  For  thy  servants  take  pleasure  in 
her  stones,  and  favour  the  dust  thereof."  Psalm  cii. 
13,  14. 

When  the  Lord  Jesus  appeared  among  the  people, 
who  for  many  centuries  had  eagerly  looked  for  his  ad- 
vent, he  chose  out  twelve  men  to  be  the  witnesses  of 
his  mighty  works,  the  companions  of  his  laborious  path, 
the  privileged  intimates  of  his  merciful  bosom.  Of 
these,  Satan  fixed  on  one,  took  up  his  abode  in  him, 
transformed  him  into  his  own  image,  and  wrought  in 
him  to  become  the  betrayer  and  murderer  of  his  Mas- 
ter. The  reading  through  any  one  of  the  four  Gospels 
with  a  continual  reference  to  the  part  that  Satan  was 
acting  all  along,  will  give  an  awful  idea  of  his  indefat- 
igable diligence. 

We  now  come  to  Japheth ;  his  posterity,  reckoned 
among  Gentiles,  as  having  no  part  in  the  very  pecu- 
liar advantages  belonging  to  this  branch  of  Shem,  were 


SATANIC    ACTIVITY.  77 

received  into  participation  of  their  rich  privileges,  and 
indeed  into  their  place  altogether,  until  the  indignation 
against  them  should  be  accomplished.  Grafted  nto 
the  good  olive,  (Rom.  xi.  17,)  they  became  living 
branches:  and  though  Satan  might  exult  in  the  total 
ruin  of  Israel,  the  destruction  of  the  holy  city,  and  des- 
olation of  the  goodly  land,  he  had  the  mortification  of 
seeing  that  Christ  had  yet  a  church,  though  Israel  was 
not  gathered  ;  (Isaiah  xlix. ;)  and  that  his  word  would 
run  and  be  glorified  throughout  the  world  ;  to  the  ends 
of  the  earth,  and  in  the  isles  of  the  sea.  He  therefore 
set  himself  to  defile  and  destroy  the  Gentile,  even  as 
he  had  done  the  Jewish  Church  :  and  two  of  his  stale 
devices  were  found  effectual  here.  By  means  of  oral 
traditions,  abundantly  falsified,  he  set  aside  the  Scrip- 
tures  :  and  so  having  made  the  commandments  of  men 
more  valid  than  the  commands  of  God,  he  contrived  by 
their  means  to  bring  in  idolatry ;  not  under  its  real 
title  of  idol- worship,  or  devil-worship,  but  on  the  prin- 
ciple of  the  golden  calf,  proclaiming  a  feast  to  Jehovah, 
while  eating  and  drinking,  dancing  and  rejoicing,  in 
honour  of  the  manufactured  abomination  of  their  own 
device.  To  such  an  extent  did  he  succeed,  that  out  of 
the  whole  mass  of  the  Gentile  Church,  occupying  the 
place  of  the  Jew,  and  with  pious  horror  trampling  him 
under  foot,  only  a  very  small,  unknown,  or  where 
known,  persecuted  and  butchered  remnant,  could  be 
found,  who  did  not  far  outdo  the  Jew  in  the  worst  of 
his  iniquities. 

But  the  Bible  remained ;  and  some  were  found  to 
read  it:  and  through  the  obstinate  fidelity  of  the  scorn. 
7* 


78  OF  EVIL  spirits  : 

ed,  detested  Jew,  this  new  counterfeit  of  Christianity, 
with  all  hell  at  his  heels,  could  not  falsify  the  blessed 
text.      By  its  means,  the  faith  of  God,  never  extin- 
guished, fully  revived  and  spread  abroad,  and  occasion- 
ed a  great  falling  off  from  Popery  to  Christ.      Here 
was  a  fresh  call  on  the  indefatigable  diligence  of  Satan  : 
he  responded  to  it,  by  bringing  in  as  many  heresies,  and 
by  effecting  as  many  divisions  as  he  possibly  could  among 
those  who  held  aloof  from  the  idolatrous  system  ;  in 
the  hope  that  he  should  yet  be  able  so  to  arm  it  again 
with   temporal   power,  as  to  crush  the  little  flock  of 
Christ  within  its  gigantic  jaws.    In  this  position  he  now 
stands,  working  among  the  three  branches  of  the  hu- 
man family,  with  the  angry  zeal  of  one,  who  knows 
that  his  time  is  very  short.     The  descendants  of  Ca- 
naan he  keeps  in  bondage  of  body  and  soul  the  most 
galling,  the  most  degrading  that  man  can  submit  to  ; 
and  until  within  a  short  period,  he  had  power  even  over 
a   truly  enlightened  Christian  nation,  to  make  them 
active  agents  in  perpetuating,  yea,  in  aggravating  the 
horrors  of  his  yoke,  on  the  necks  of  their  sable  breth- 
ren.    Shem's    principal    representatives,   the    chosen, 
highly- favoured  children    of  Jacob,   are  yet   wholly 
blinded  to  the  great  truth  which  they  have  conveyed 
to  us  ;  and  with  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament  in 
their  hands,  and  with  the  deepest  reverence  for  all  that 
Moses  and  the  prophets  have  written  concerning  Christ, 
their  eyes  are  withheld  from  recognising  the  substance 
of  the  shadow  which  they  so  cherish :  and    with  the 
view  of  the  water  of  life  flowing  across  their  path,  they 
perish  in  unslaked  thirst.     The  fiction  with  which  Sa- 


SATANIC    ACTIVITY.  79 

tan  has  long  decei^d  so  large  a  proportion  of  nominal 
Christendom,  is  stiTT  sustained  ;  and  up  to  this  time  he 
keeps  his  ground,  in  defiance  of  increasing  light  on  all 
sides ;  so  that  we  only  now  and  then  hear  of  an  indi- 
vidual rescued  from  the  dominion  of  that  blasphemous 
cheat,  and  enabled  to  see  the  snare  coiled  around  him  ; 
while  full  as  many,  brought  up  in  the  doctrine  and 
worship  of  the  true  God,  turn  aside  unto  fables,  and 
believe  the  lie.  When  we  consider  that  of  all  these 
multitudes,  and  the  myriads  beside  who  have  not  been 
specified,  every  single  individual  requires  the  vigilant 
superintendence  of  some  subtle  spirit  to  continue  his  de- 
lusion, to  harden  him  against  the  truth,  and  even 
against  the  pleadings  of  his  own  natural  reason,  and 
the  surrounding  evidences  of  a  power,  goodness,  holi- 
ness, that  he  refuses  to  acknowledge,  we  may  partly 
conceive  what  active  duty  is  required  of  each  several 
angel  among  the  fallen  host:  and  how  prodigious  must 
be  the  diligence  of  their  leader,  ever  seeing  and  direct- 
ing such  a  complicated  work. 

In  this  instance  alone,  we  have  gone  beyond  the  track 
of  Scripture  history  ;  but  not  that  of  prophecy.  The 
Bible  sets  forth  what  should  come  to  pass;  and  we 
look  at  what  has  occurred,  and  what  will  yet  occur, 
before  our  eyes.  The  prolonged  bondage  and  wretch- 
edness of  Canaan's  race,  the  unbelief,  dispersion,  and 
continued  degradation  of  Israel,  and  the  great  apostasy 
from  the  Christian  Church,  with  its  duration  and  con- 
sequences, are  all  most  exactly  foretold.  And  Satan, 
as  "the  god  of  this  world,"  "the  prince  of  the  power 
of  the  air,"  "  the  spirit  that  now  worketh  in  the  child- 


80  OF  evil  spirits: 

ren  of  disobedience,"  is  distinctly  shown  to  be  their 
governor,  until,  by  the  operation  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
they  are  delivered  out  of  his  hand,  and  translated  to 
the  kingdom  of  God's  dear  Son. 


VII. 

SATANIC  KNOWLEDGE. 

There  is  a  wisdom  peculiar  to  the  powers  of  evil 
whereof  the  apostle  speaks :  "  This  wisdom  descendeth 
not  from  above,  but  is  earthly,  sensual,  devilish ;" 
James  iii.  15 ;  and  there  is  a  knowledge  gained  by 
close,  continued  observation,  apart  from  any  divine  aid 
whatever,  and  which  fits  a  man  to  deceive  and  defraud 
his  neighbour.  In  this,  we  may  believe  Satan  abounds  ; 
and  we  are  quite  sure  that  he  has  the  power  of  com- 
municating it,  because  the  Scriptures  distinctly  say  so. 
He  can  enable  his  servants  to  prophecy,  but  not  true 
things :  John  saw  an  unclean  spirit  proceed  out  of  the 
mouth  of  the  false  prophet.  Rev.  xvi.  13.  He  can 
endow  them  with  miraculous  powers ;  as  witness  Pha- 
raoh's enchanters,  and  the  predicted  apostasy  of  him, 
"  whose  coming  is  after  the  workings  of  Satan,  with 
all  power,  and  signs,  and  lying  wonders;"  2  Thess. 
ii.  9 ;  and  who,  under  another  name,  is  described  as 
he-  that  "  doth  great  wonders,  so  that  he  maketh  fire 
come  down  from  heaven  on  the  earth,  in  the  sight  of 
men ;  and  deceiveth  them  that  dwell  on  the  earth,  by 


82  OF  EVIL  spirits  : 

the  means  of  those  wonders  which  he  hath  power  to  do 
in  the  sight  of  the  beast."  Rev.  xiii.  13,  14.  The 
heaven  here  spoken  of,  is,  of  course,  the  upper  region 
of  our  atmosphere  ;  for  to  the  heaven  of  God's  pres- 
ence Satan  cannot  extend  his  influences ;  however,  he 
may,  by  some  mysterious  mandate,  be  made  to  appear 
there,  as  we  have  already  noticed.  By  devilish  wis- 
dom he  may  devise  many  crafty  plans,  and  by  devil- 
ish power  carry  them  into  most  destructive  operation  ; 
and  it  is  important  to  consider  this  point,  lest  we  fall 
into  the  very  common  snare,  of  despising  and  neglect- 
ing what  we  are  bound  most  vigilantly  to  watch  and 
to  guard  against. 

Men,  by  accurate  observation  of  the  phenomena  of 
God's  works,  and  tracing  effects  to  their  causes,  some- 
times make  marvellous  discoveries ;  and  by  a  judi 
cious  application  of  the  knowledge  acquired,  by  ana- 
logical reasonings,  fit  combinations,  and  often  by  ap- 
parent accidents,  occurring  in  the  course  of  the  curi- 
ous investigations,  they  produce  results  that  bear  the 
character  of  amazing  inventions.  Yet  how  limited, 
how  clouded,  how  defective,  how  utterly  insignificant 
is  the  widest  sphere  of  man's  laborious  observation, 
compared  with  what  Satan  can  take  in  at  a  glance. 
The  painful  calculations  of  the  astronomer,  arrived  at 
after  years  of  sleepless  nights,  and  requiring  probably 
as  many  more  studious  days  to  render  them  intelligi- 
bly credible  to  others,  are  simple  matters  of  common 
observation  to  him.  Those  hidden  laboratories,  where 
the  elements  in  mystery  and  darkness  work,  are  so  far 
open  to  him  as  created  intelligence  is  permitted  to  ex- 


SATANIC    KNOWLEDGE.  83 

plore  them  ;  and  he  certainly  knows  our  frame  far 
better  than  we  ourselves  know  it.  We  have  the  di- 
rect, explicit,  reiterated  testimony  of  God  himself,  that 
Satanic  influence  could  quench  the  sight,  close  the 
hearing,  fetter  the  tongue,  paralyze  the  limbs,  distort 
the  body,  madden  the  brain,  and  impart  to  man  the 
force  of  a  powerful,  ferocious  beast.  Instances  of  all 
this  have  been  adduced  from  Scripture,  in  the  prece- 
ding sections ;  as  also  the  marvels  wrought,  as  in  the 
case  of  the  Egyptian  sorcerers,  propably  by  the  appli- 
cation of  Satanic  skill,  in  what  we  call  chemistry,  na- 
tural history,  and  other  branches  of  science.  We  may 
doubt,  or  rather  deny  his  ability  to  raise  a  tempest ; 
for  the  stormy  winds  fulfil  God's  word  :  (Psalm  cxlviii. 
3  ;)  but  he  can  at  least  do  more  than  Columbus  did, 
when  by  calculating  and  foretelling  an  eclipse  of  the 
moon,  he  terrified  the  poor  ignorant  natives  into  com- 
pliance with  all  his  demands. 

An  instance  of  his  subtlety  occurring  a  few  years 
since,  and  attested  by  unimpeachable  evidence,  may 
illustrate  this.  The  writer  had  it  from  one  who  was 
on  the  spot ;  and  it  has  also  been  published.  The  late 
Lady  Hester  Stanhope,  it  is  well  known,  fell  into  a 
snare  of  the  devil,  abjured  her  faith,  and  lived  among 
the  mountains  of  Djourni  as  an  eastern  princess,  whol- 
ly divorced  from  all  former  ties,  not  only  to  her  coun- 
try, but  to  her  God  ;  she  affected  a  knowledge  of  fu- 
turity, peculiar  to  those  who  practise  witchcraft.  Her 
house  was  visited  by  many  strangers,  including  Eng- 
lishmen ;  and  they  were  hospitably  entertained.  At 
the  time  now  alluded  to,  some  zealous  Christians  oc- 


84  OF   EVIL    SPIRITS  ! 

casionally  took  up  their  temporary  abode  with  her ; 
the  Rev.  Lewis  Way,  Joseph  Wolff,  and  others,  who 
earnestly  longed  to  lead  into  the  fold  this  wandering 
sheep  and  her  infidel  household.  This,  of  course, 
would  raise  Satan's  opposition  in  no  common  degree ; 
for  the  smallest  portion  of  good  leaven  lodged  in  that 
lump  might  work  the  ruin  of  his  kingdom  in  a  place 
where  every  inch  of  territory  is  an  important  posses- 
sion. Among  the  members  of  her  establishment  was 
a  Dewish,  a  pretender  to  superior  knowledge  arid  sanc- 
tity, a  teacher  and  worshiper  of  false  gods,  therefore 
of  devils;  held  in  esteem  by  Lady  Hester,  and  in 
great  awe  and  admiration  by  her  dependants.  This 
man's  influence  could  not  co-exist  with  that  of  a  Chris- 
tian minister ;  and  though  it  does  not  appear  that  he 
took  any  part  in  resisting  them,  Satan  contrived  so  to 
establish  his  character  as  to  seal  up  his  followers  in 
deeper  darkness  than  before.  A  tremendous  earth- 
quake buried  Aleppo  in  ruins :  the  city  was  over- 
thrown and  the  inhabitants  perished.  Situated  many 
miles  distant  from  the  scene  of  devastation,  without  the 
possibility  of  any  human  communication,  and  indeed 
before  it  took  place,  this  Dewish  openly  proclaimed 
that  Aleppo  was  destroyed.  In  that  advanced  stage 
of  the  subterranean  process,  an  observant  being  could 
doubtless  tell  that  the  crisis  was  at  hand — could  point 
the  spot  where,  from  circumstances  ordered  of  God, 
it  was  evidently  to  burst :  and  thus  by  simply  using 
the  tongue  of  an  ungodly  man  to  convey  the  intima- 
tion, he  established  that  man's  claim  to  a  prophetic 
spirit.      It   was   much    talked   of   at    the   time,    and 


SATANIC    KNOWLEDGE.  85 

questioned  by  some  who  would  neither  admit  that  a 
divine  revelation  was  made  to  so  evil  a  character,  and 
for  no  good  end,  or  that  Satan  has  power  to  discover 
the  yet  unrevealed  purposes  of  God.  We  admit  both 
these  objections,  yet  the  tale  is  true ;  and  on  this 
ground  it  is  perfectly  explicable. 

And  on  this  principle  we  may  account  for  securing 
revelations  of  future,  or  very  distant  events,  by  dreams 
or  otherwise,  where  they  often  tend  to  foster  a  danger- 
ous superstition,  or  to  strengthen  belief  in  a  false  doc- 
trine. Such  things  have  come  to  pass  within  the 
knowledge  of  some  who  may  read  these  pages.  Inti- 
mations have  been  given  of  a  death,  or  other  occur- 
rence, and  mentioned  also  by  the  party  receiving  the 
impression,  hours  before  it  was  possible  for  intelligence 
to  arrive :  sometimes  at  the  very  moment  the  circum- 
stance took  place  ;  and  instances  could  be  named  where 
Popery  has  at  once  been  embraced  on  the  strength  of 
such  juggling  devices  of  Satan.  A  person  apparently 
in  the  soundest  health  may  be  told  by  another,  seem- 
ingly inspired,  that  within  such  a  period  he  should  die ; 
and  the  prediction  may  be  literally  accomplished.  In 
many  cases,  aneurism  for  instance,  an  organic  disease 
works  its  way  for  a  long  time  without  producing  any 
sensible  external  effect :  but  Satan  marks,  and  calcu- 
lates, and  confidently  pronounces  what,  when  the  event 
comes  to  pass,  is  regarded  as  an  oracle  of  God.  That 
He  can  and  does  graciously  warn  and  instruct  his  ser- 
vants, both  "  in  dreams  and  visions  of  the  night,"  and 
in  various  other  ways,  we  cannot  for  a  moment  doubt ; 
neither  would  we  approach  by  a  single  step  the  awful 
8 


86  OF    EVIL    SPIRITS  .' 

crime  of  even  ignorantly  attributing  to  evil  powers 
what  may  be  the  gracious  intimations  of  the  Holy 
One  :  we  merely  notice  some  illustrations  of  the  Scrip- 
ture assertion,  that  intercourse  may  be  held  with 
"  familiar  spirits,"  and  witchcraft  practised,  and  super- 
natural knowledge  acquired  by  diabolical  aid. 

Three  score  years  render  a  clever  man  shrewdly 
experienced  and  worldly  wise,  if  he  have  passed  them 
in  carefully  looking  about  him  with  a  view  to  his  own 
interests.  What  then  must  be  the  advantage  to  Satan 
of  nearly  six  thousand  years'  observation  of  all  that 
concerns  our  race  ?  The  stupendous  intellect  of  an 
angel,  faculties  of  which  we  can  form  no*  conception 
except  from  their  mighty  effects ;  enough  of  daring  to 
brave,  and  enough  of  malignity  to  persecute  "  the 
Mighty  Father,  the  Everlasting  God,  the  Prince  of 
Peace,"  and  to  aid  all  of  these,  an  ally  already  en- 
gaged on  his  side  within  the  bosom  of  every  child  of 
man.  Such  is  our  adversary  the  devil :  such  is  that 
roaring  lion  who  goeth  about  seeking  whom  he  may 
devour;  and  shall  wc  be  lulled  into  security,  despite 
the  awful  admonitions  which  the  Holy  Ghost  hath 
given,  because  it  has  become  fashionable  to  despise  his 
power,  disbelieve  his  interference,  and  make  light  of 
his  name  ? 

But,  apart  from  supernatural  knowledge,  there  is  a 
wisdom  which  Satan  imparts,  by  means  of  those  sug- 
gestions that  every  one  among  us  can  testify  he  has 
power  to  insinuate  into  our  minds.  Tin-  apostle  was 
speaking  of  that  external  worldly  religion  which  is 
consistent   with    "  bitter   envying  and  strife "  in  the 


SATANIC    KNOWLEDGE.  87 

heart.  Where  these  are  allowed,  he  bids  us  "  glory 
not,  and  lie  not  against  the  truth,"  for  the  wisdom  in 
which  such  persons  boast  themselves  "  descendeth  not 
from  above,  but  is  earthly,  sensual,  devilish."  Some 
have  erringly  compared  the  mind  of  an  infant  to  a 
clean  sheet  of  paper,  on  which  good  or  bad  may  be 
written  at  will ;  this  is  wrong  ;  for  the  paper  is  im- 
pure, and  blotted  from  the  very  first,  and  scribbled 
over  with  all  evil ;  but,  so  far  as  wisdom  and  know- 
ledge are  concerned,  the  sheet  is  certainly  blank,  until 
reason  begins  to  unfold  itself;  and  Satan  is  eagerly  on 
the  alert  with  his  subordinate  fiends,  to  impart  that 
which  cometh  from  beneath.  It  is  a  solemn  consider- 
ation that  every  idea  conveyed  to  a  child's  mind  must 
be  from  one  of  these  sources :  man  can  originate  no- 
thing :  he  may  imbibe  the  notions  of  others,  but  they 
too  must  be  sought  for  under  one  of  the  heads  named 
by  the  apostle  :  the  wisdom  that  cometh  from  above, 
which  is  pure  and  peaceable,  or  the  wisdom  that 
cometh  from  beneath,  which  is  Satanic.  Of  the  latter 
class  was  Ahithophel's  wisdom ;  in  a  good  cause,  his 
plan  of  carrying  on  the  war  would  have  been  sound 
counsel ;  but  bein^  brought  to  aid  the  cause  of  trea- 
son,  rebellion,  parricide,  it  was  devilish.  Satan  sug- 
gested it,  and  God  turned  it  into  foolishness.  2  Sam. 
xvii.  14. 

The  wisdom  taught  by  our  adversary  is  always  op- 
posed to  the  truth  ;  it  is  a  knowledge  that  puffeth  up, 
and  makes  those  who  possess  it  fools  —  "  For  my  peo- 
ple is  foolish,  they  have  not  known  me  :  they  are  sot- 
tish children,  they  have  none  understanding  :  they  are 


88  OF   evil   spirits: 

wise  to  do  evil,  but  to  do  good  they  have  no  know- 
ledge." Jer.  iv.  22.  And  this  must  be  unlearned : 
"  If  any  man  among  you  seemeth  to  be  wise  in  this 
world,  let  him  become  a  fool  that  he  may  be  wise. 
For  the  wisdom  of  this  world  is  foolishness  with  God  ; 
for  it  is  written,  "  He  taketh  the  wise  in  their  own  crafti- 
ness ;"  and  again,  "  The  Lord  knoweth  the  thoughts 
of  the  wise,  that  they  are  vain."  1  Cor.  iii.  18,  19,  20. 
The  Egyptians  were  fully  replenished  with  this  infer- 
nal wisdom,  when  planning  to  diminish  the  people  of 
Israel  by  destroying  the  male  children,  they  said, 
"  Come  on  ;  let  us  deal  wisely  with  them."  Exod.  i. 
10.  These,  and  similar  passages,  clearly  showing 
that  the  wisdom  of  this  world  emanates  from  the  god 
of  this  world,  are  calculated  to  prove  to  us  the  danger 
that  besets  the  path  of  such  as  are  bent  on  acquiring 
knowledge  apart  from  godliness.  They  have  a  mas- 
ter at  hand,  ready  and  able  to  teach  them  as  much 
as  human  understanding  may  grasp,  and  sure  to  clothe 
with  every  attraction  the  bait  which  he  has  found  to 
be  so  efficacious  in  bringing  souls  into  his  net ;  but 
the  price  of  his  lessons  is  such,  that  the  man  who 
strikes  that  bargain  is  bankrupt  forever. 


SECTION    I. THEIR    EXISTENCE  AND    CHARACTER. 

OF    EVIL    SPIRITS. 
VIII. 

THE  LIMIT  OF  SATANIC  POWER. 

Whence  comes  it  that,  in  proportion  as  men  are 
obviously  under  the  influence  of  an  unrenewed  heart 
they  seem  disposed  to  make  light  of  the  solemn  reality 
which  we  are  considering  ?  Why  do  they  most  ques- 
tion or  despise  the  enemy's  power,  when  giving  the 
plainest  proofs  of  his  unresisted  dominion  over  them- 
selves ?  Our  Lord  has  furnished  us  with  a  clue  to 
unravel  the  mystery  :  he  says,  in  direct  reference  to 
it,  "  When  a  strong  man  armed  keepeth  his  palace,  his 
goods  are  in  peace ;  but  when  a  stronger  than  he  shall 
come  upon  him,  he  taketh  from  him  all  his  armour 
wherein  he  trusted,  and  divideth  his  spoils."  Luke  xi. 
21,  22.  Man  is  born  in  a  state  of  rebellion  against 
the  supreme  authority  of  his  sovereign  king  ;  and  like- 
wise in  such  a  condition  of  mental  and  spiritual  dark- 
ness, that  he  cannot  be  brought  to  see  himself  as  he  is, 
until  divinely  illuminated.  He  cannot  comprehend 
the  plain  meaning  of  assertions  repeated  again  and 
again  in  the  volume  to  which,  as  a  whole,  he  perhaps 
yields  his  assent,  but  which,  in  its  details  and  its  per- 
8* 


90  OF  EVIL  spirits  : 

sonal  applications,  is  probably  still  a  sealed  book  to 
him.  St.  Paul  describes  man  as  being  "  carnal,  sold 
under  sin;"  Rom.  vii.  14;  and  again  he  says,  "the 
carnal  mind  is  enmity  against  God  ;  for  it  is  not  sub- 
ject  to  the  law  of  God,  neither  indeed  can  be."  Rom. 
viii.  7.  This  characteristic  of  disobedience  belongs  to 
the  whole  human  race,  however  reluctant  they  may 
be  to  acknowledge  it.  Indeed,  the  scheme  of  redemp- 
tion necessarily  hinges  upon  the  fact,  that  man  had 
offended  God,  and  could  not  deliver  himself.  We  also 
know  in  what  way  he  was  originally  brought  into  this 
condemnation :  "  By  one  man's  disobedience  many 
were  made  sinners;"  Rom.  v.  19;  and  Satan  is  ex- 
pressly set  forth  as  the  ruler  of  the  disobedient,  in  that 
important  passage  which  should  never  be  out  of  our 
minds ;  "  And  you,  who  were  dead  in  trespasses  and 
sins,  wherein  in  times  past,  ye  walked  according  to 
the  course  of  this  world,  according  to  the  prince  of  the 
power  of  the  air,  the  spirit  that  now  workcth  in  the 
children  of  disobedience  ;  among  whom  also  we  all 
had  our  conversation  in  times  past  in  the  lust  of  our 
flesh,  fulfilling  the  desires  of  the  flesh  and  of  the  mind ; 
and  were  by  nature  the  children  of  wrath,  even  as 
others."  Eph.  ii.  1-3.  Here  we  have  it  laid  down  as 
an  axiom  that  those  who  are  in  their  natural  state  of 
disobedience,  those  who  still  walk  according  to  the 
course  of  this  world,  are  under  the  dominion  of  Satan, 
possessed  by  him,  since  he  works  in  them  until  the 
finger  of  God  casts  him  out.  When,  therefore,  we 
find  men  of  unrenewed  spirits  making  light  of  the 
power,   and  even  hinting  doubts  of  the  existence  of 


THE  LIMIT  OF  SATANIC    POWER.  91 

Satan,  while  they  denounce  as  childish  the  declara- 
tions of  others  concerning  him,  who  have  felt  within 
themselves  that  mighty  conflict — the  overcoming  of  the 
strong  man,  taking  away  the  armour  wherein  he  trust- 
ed and  dividing  the  spoils,  what  does  it  prove  but  the 
necessity  for  increased  earnestness  on  our  part,  in  de- 
claring the  reality  of  what  Satan,  for  his  own  sake, 
would  represent  as  a  fiction  1  So  long  as  the  natural 
man  remains  ignorant  or  incredulous  of  the  fact  that 
he  is  himself  a  palace  of  Satan,  he  will  not  throw  open 
the  door  of  his  heart  to  the  Deliverer  who  stands  and 
knocks  at  it :  so  long  as  the  believer  can  be  induced  to 
forget  the  strong  testimony  of  God  to  the  enemy's  rest- 
less designs  and  efforts,  he  will  leave  the  door  so  un- 
guarded as  to  endanger  the  re-entrance  of  its  former 
master,  to  the  clean-swept  and  garnished  habitation. 
Surely,  then,  it  is  a  point  of  great  moment  with  the  en- 
emy to  lull  our  minds,  and  banish  as  far  as  he  can  our 
salutary  dread  of  him;  and  hence  what  some,  smart- 
ing from  the  bitter  conflict,  have  recorded  for  the 
warning  and  encouragement  of  others,  is  stigmatized  as 
weakness  or  insanity.  Assuredly  he  who  dared  to  face, 
to  taunt,  and  to  tempt  the  Lord  Jehovah  himself,  de- 
serves a  higher  rank  than  that  assigned  to  him  by  such 
deceived  commentators — the  rank  of  a  nursery  hob- 
goblin ! 

Another  very  important  fact  bears  upon  the  same 
point :  Satan  has  no  compulsory  power  over  man.  Let 
him  do  his  utmost,  he  cannot  compel  any  human  being 
to  transgress ;  he  can  only  suggest,  stimulate,  provide 
occasion,  and  work  in  the  children  of  disobedience  to 


92  OF  EVIL  spirits: 

accomplish  their  own  ruin.  If  we  were  helpless  ma- 
chines it  would  be  different ;  but  an  act  of  volition  on 
our  part  is  necessary  to  constitute  actual  sin  against 
God.  Eve  thought  to  cast  the  whole  burden  of  guilt 
from  herself  upon  the  serpent;  and  if  he  had  forced  the 
fruit  down  her  throat,  contrary  to  her  will,  no  doubt 
she  would  have  stood  guiltless ;  but  she  was  a  con- 
senting party,  and  so  are  we  in  every  advantage  that 
the  devil  obtains  over  us.  Even  the  heathen  Gentiles 
who  never  heard  of  a  divine  revelation,  have  a  law 
written  in  their  hearts ;  a  conscience  accusing  or  else 
excusing  them  ;  (Rom.  ii.  15  ;)  and  among  us  who  is 
there  able  to  plead  actual  compulsion  or  anything  be- 
yond a  temptation  so  strong  perhaps  as  to  appear  irre- 
sistible, because  he  did  not  at  the  moment  lay  hold  of 
the  promise  annexed  to  a  precept  that  none  ever  fol- 
lowed in  vain.  "  Resist  the  devil,  and  he  will  flee  from 
you."  James  iv.  7.  It  is  our  resistance  that  Satan 
dreads ;  he  knows  we  can  put  him  to  flight  if  we  detect 
and  face  him  :  therefore  his  step  is  noiseless,  his  move- 
ment stealthy,  and  his  battery  masked. 

It  is  evident  that  our  Lord's  incarnation  shook  the 
kingdom  of  Satan  upon  earth  in  a  peculiar  manner; 
but  without  leaving  the  direct  testimony  of  Scripture, 
and  hazarding  conjectures  where  the  least  error  may 
lead  to  very  dangerous  results,  we  cannot  say  much 
on  that  subject.  This  we  know,  that  the  evil  spirits 
expressed  great  terror  at  his  approach,  deprecating  his 
interference,  and  crying  out  against  the  exercise  of  a 
power  which  they  with  one  voice  acknowledged.  The 
seventy  disciples,  also,  having  boon  sent  forth,  returned 


THE    LIMIT    OF    SATANIC    POWER.  93 

again  with  joy,  saying,  "  Lord,'  even  the  devils  are 
subject  unto  us  through  thy  name.  And  he  said  unto 
them,  I  beheld  Satan  as  lightning  fall  from  heaven. 
Behold,  I  give  you  power  to  tread  on  serpents  and 
scorpions,  and  over  all  the  power  of  the  enemy :  and 
nothing  shall  by  any  means  hurt  you.  Notwithstand- 
ing in  this  rejoice  not,  that  the  spirits  are  subject  unto 
you,  but  rather  rejoice  because  your  names  are  writ- 
ten in  heaven."  Luke  x.  17 — 20.  This  certainly  im- 
plies a  great  blow  inflicted  on  the  visible  kingdom  of 
Satan  among  men ;  but  that  its  extent  was  limited  by 
the  area  to  which  the  Gospel  spread,  seems  also  clear, 
from  the  case  of  the  seven  sons  of  Sceva,  (Acts  xix. 
13 — 16,)  who  took  upon  themselves  like  some  others, 
to  exercise  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  in  whom  they  did 
not  themselves  believe.  "  We  adjure  you  by  Jesus 
whom  Paul  preacheth."  To  which  the  unclean  spirit 
replied,  "  Jesus  I  know,  and  Paul  I  know,  but  who  are 
ye  V  and  instead  of  obeying  the  unauthorized  com- 
mand to  come  out  of  the  man,  he  gave  him  strength  to 
leap  upon  and  overcome  all  the  seven  pretenders,  so 
that  they  fled  from  the  house,  naked  and  wounded.  But 
though  we  cannot  define  either  the  precise  nature  or 
extent  of  the  curb  laid  down  upon  the  enemy  by  the 
first  advent  of  our  Lord,  it  is  certain  that  a  great 
change  took  place  shortly  after  in  the  manifestation  of 
Satanic  influences,  which  assumed  more  of  a  spiritual 
and  less  of  a  physical  character,  so  that  cases  of  obvi- 
ous possession  and  witchcraft  became  less  frequent, 
gradually  disappearing  before  the  advancing  light  of 
the  Gospel.     In  our  day  they  have  apparently  ceased, 


94  OF    EVIL    SPIRITS  " 

and  with  them,  in  a  great  measure,  the  belief  in  their 
having  ever  existed,  while  doubts  that  give  the  direct 
lie  to  the  inspired  Scriptures  are  started,  listened  to 
and  canvassed  with  a  grievous  insensibility  of  the  gross 
insult  thus  put  upon  the  divine  Author  of  that  Book. 
Satan  knows  better  than  we  do  the  extent  of  our  power 
over  him :  the  weakest  believer  is  more  than  a  match 
for  him  and  all  his  angels,  and  would  be  able  to  prove 
it  if  brought  to  the  test  in  the  sight  of  men :  therefore 
Satan  lurks  in  ambush,  forbearing  to  show  himself 
openly  as  of  old,  lest  he  should  draw  forth  the  dormant 
.  energy  of  the  Christian,  inducing  him  to  unsheath  the 
sword  that  has  slumbered  in  the  scabbard  until  its  mas- 
ter forgets  that  he  holds  such  a  weapon.  The  enemy 
indeed  seems  to  be  preparing  for  his  last  campaign 
against  the  church,  by  inducing  such  an  oblivion  of 
his  history  and  features,  that  when  he  advances  again 
she  will  not  recognise  him  as  the  old  serpent ;  while 
among  the  ungodly  he  prevails  to  have  his  existence 
so  utterly  disbelieved,  and  his  name  converted  into  a 
jest,  that  he  may  work  in  them  to  any  extent.  They 
will  obey  his  worst  impulses  as  the  dictates  of  their 
own  wisdom,  and  exhibit  as  honourable  trophies  of 
liberty  and  independence,  the  heaviest  fetters  that  he 
can  rivet  on  their  enslaved  minds. 

We  may  then  safely  assert  that  a  limit  exists,  be- 
yond  which  the  power  of  Satan  and  his  crew  cannot 
pass;  and  that,  it  is  known  to  us  where  that  limit  lies. 
Our  blessed  Lord  diselosed  it,  when  he  said  to  Peter, 
"Simon,  Simon,  beheld  Satan  hath  desired  te  have  you, 
that  he  may  sift  you  as  wheat:  hut   I  have  prayed 


THE    LIMIT    OF    SATANIC    POWER.  95 

for  thee,  that  thy  faith  fail  not.'''  Luke  xxii.  31,  32.  It 
is  our  faith  that  effectually  baffles  his  strongest  efforts, 
as  St.  Paul  declares,  "  Above  all,  taking  the  shield  of 
faith,  wherewith  ye  shall  be  able  to  quench  all  the 
fiery  darts  of  the  wicked."  Eph.  vi.  16.  And  in  a 
case  of  possession,  where  Jesus  cast  out  a  devil  which 
his  disciples  had  vainly  tried  to  expel,  when  the  latter 
asked  the  Lord,  "  Why  could  we  not  cast  him  out  ?" 
he  answered,  "Because  of  your  unbelief."  Matt.  xvii. 
19,  20.  It  is  evident  that  man,  being  himself  the  law- 
ful captive  of  Satan,  and  naturally  inclined  to  follow 
his  suggestions  and  to  do  his  bidding,  has  nothing  in 
himself  calculated  to  oppose  any  effectual  resistance 
to  his  power ;  and  it  is  only  as  Christ,  the  conqueror 
of  Satan  dwells  in  him  by  faith,  influencing  his  desires, 
and  strengthening  him  with  strength  in  his  soul,  that 
many  may  venture  to  face  so  terrible  a  foe.  All  other- 
means  of  defence  are  utterly  vain :  Satan  knows  no 
fetter  in  his  actings  among  men,  but  that  which  Christ 
has  thrown  upon  him ;  and  there  is  nothing  so  sure  to 
drive  the  sinner  to  seek  refuge  in  his  Saviour,  or  to 
keep  the  believer  close  to  him,  as  the  clear  compre- 
hension of  this  momentous  truth,  that  Satan,  "  going  to 
and  fro  in  the  earth,  and  walking  up  and  down  in  it," 
meets  no  restraint  but  where  he  meets  Christ  enthroned 
in  the  heart  of  a  ransomed  sinner. 

These  hinderers  of  Satan's  work  of  destruction, 
which  he,  "  a  murderer  from  the  beginning,"  (John 
viii.  44,)  is  ever  seeking  to  carry  on  and  extend,  are 
the  people  of  God  :  they  occupy  through  the  reconciled 
blood  of  the  cross,  that  position  in  the   divine  favour 


96  OF  evil  spirits: 

which  man  was  originally  created  to  enjoy,  but  which 
Satan  persuaded  him  to  forfeit.  They  are  a  little 
flock,  gathered  out  from  the  immense  community  of 
the  adversary's  willing  bondslaves,  and  from  a  king- 
dom  as  yet  scarcely  visible,  scattered  up  and  down, 
and  divided,  by  his  craft,  into  many  portions.  Of 
course,  the  usurper's  object  is  two-fold :  first,  to 
strengthen  his  authority  within  his  own  domain,  so 
as  to  place  every  obstacle  in  the  way  of  the  enlarge- 
ment of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom,  by  the  accession  of 
souls  delivered  from  his  thraldom,  and  next  to  weaken 
the  little  band  of  his  successful  opponents  ;  to  lure  them 
back,  if  it  may  be,  into  his  chains  ;  if  not,  to  harass,  to 
persecute,  to  destroy  them  from  off  the  face  of  the 
earth.  To  accomplish  these  ends,  to  break  down  the 
prescribed  limits  of  his  range,  he  wields  every  means 
within  his  reach  •  his  personal  power  and  subtlety,  the 
legions  of  fallen  angels  who  acknowledge  him  as  their 
chief,  and  the  people  of  this  world,  "  the  children  of 
disobedience,"  in  whom  he  works,  and  in  whom  his 
works  shows  itself  in  an  envious  hatred  of  all  that  is 
good.  If  to  dishonour  God  be,  as  we  know  it  is,  the 
end  of  Satan's  designs  ;  and  if  to  make  man  the  instru- 
ment of  so  dishonouring  his  Creator,  be,  as  we  know 
it  is,  his  delight ;  how  great  must  be  his  triumph,  when 
he  can  involve  the  redeemed  people  of  the  Lord  in  such 
guilt,  and  turn,  as  it  were,  his  prison  bars  into  weapons 
of  offence  against  his  righteous  captor.  True,  it  may 
not  again  enclose  the  souls  of  the  ransomed  in  his  dead- 
ly grasp  ;  but  knowing  the  words  of  the  Lord  Jesus  to 
his  disciples,  "  Herein  is  my  Father  glorified,  that  ye 


THE    LIMIT   OF    SATANIC    POWER.  97 

bear  much  fruit."  John  xv.  8.  He  strives  to  nip  the 
tender  blossoms,  and  to  soil,  if  he  cannot  shake  off,  the 
half-ripened  clusters  of  the  true  living  branches.  He 
contrives  to  mingle  other  motives  with  those  which  the 
Holy  Spirit  dictates ;  and  if  he  cannot  cause  them  to 
predominate,  so  that  they  who  have  begun  in  the  spirit, 
and  run  well  for  awhile,  are  gradually  drawn  aside  to 
follow  the  flesh,  still  he  often  weakens  their  hands  by 
presenting  to  them,  in  a  strong  and  alarming  light, 
their  defiled  and  imperfect  service,  and  persuading 
them  that  God  has  forsaken  them.  This  he  did  of  old 
through  his  servants  the  false  prophets,  as  the  Lord 
speaks,  "  With  lies  ye  have  made  the  heart  of  the 
righteous  sad,  whom  I  have  not  made  sad."  Ezek.  xiii. 
22.  As  he  quoted  Scripture  to  tempt  the  Lord  Jesus, 
so  he  will  do  to  harass  his  disciples.  Has  not  the  ser- 
vant of  God  often  found  himself  assailed  in  the  act  of 
teaching,  exhorting,  admonishing,  whether  with  the  lip 
or  the  pen,  by  some  such  passage  as  that,  "  What  hast 
thou  to  do  to  declare  my  statutes,  or  that  thou  shouldest 
take  my  covenant  in  thy  mouth  V'  Psalm  1.  16,  coupled 
with  the  recollection  of  past  sins,  which  are  washed 
away  by  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  or  the  sense  of  present 
infirmity,  which  he  knows  he  may  carry  to  the  throne 
of  grace,  where  grace  is  promised,  and  help  for  every 
time  of  need,  by  him  who  hath  made  reconciliation  for 
the  sins  of  the  people ;  and  "  for  in  that  he  himself 
hath  suffered,  being  tempted,  he  is  able  to  succour 
them  that  are  tempted."  Heb.  ii.  .18. 

And  he  will,  he  does  succour  them.      He  has  said, 
"  Resist  the  devil  and  he  will  flee  from  you :"  and  has 
9 


98  OF  evil    spirits: 

thereto  added,  "  draw  nigh  to  God,  and  he  will  draw 
nigh  to  you."  James  iv.  7,  8.  Satan  has  great  power, 
and  he  will  stretch  it  to  the  uttermost  in  this  branch  of 
his  work,  tempting,  harassing,  discouraging,  mislead- 
ing the  Lord's  people :  but  there  is  a  distinct  promise 
given,  that  exhibits  in  a  most  cheering  light  the  ever 
watchful  care  of  the  Most  High  over  his  poor  children. 
"  There  hath  no  temptation  taken  you,  but  such  as  is 
common  to  man ;  but  God  is  faithful,  who  will  not  suf- 
fer you  to  be  tempted  above  that  ye  are  able,  but  will 
with  the  temptation  also,  make  a  way  to  escape,  that 
ye  may  be  able  to  bear  it."  1  Cor.  x.  13.  Paul  was 
not  exempt  from  these  fiery  trials :  we  find  him  con- 
tinually  alluding  to  them  in  his  epistles,  and  not  unfre- 
quently  naming  the  source  whence  he  knew  that  all 
proceeded.  In  authorizing  the  Corinthian  Church  to 
forgive  and  comfort  the  offending,  but  now  penitent 
brethren,  who  had,  by  his  command,  been  delivered 
over  for  a  time  to  Satan  for  needful  correction,  he 
assigns  as  a  reason  for  thus  again  receiving  him, 
"Lest  Satan  should  get  an  advantage  of  us,  for  we 
are  not  ignorant  of  his  devices."  2  Cor.  ii.  11.  And 
in  view  of  the  dangers  to  which  those  devices  constantly 
exposed  them,  he  afterwards  says,  "  I  fear  lest,  by  any 
means,  as  the  serpent  beguiled  Eve  through  his  sub- 
tlety, so  your  minds  should  be  corrupted  from  the  sim- 
plicity that  is  in  Christ:"  then  lie  goes  on  to  explain 
that  it  is  by  means  of  evil  teachers  the  enemy  is 
most  likely  to  assail  their  faith,  "  For  such  are  false 
apostles,  deceitful  workers,  transforming  themselves 
into  the  apostles  of  Christ :  and  no  marvel ;  for  Satan 


THE    LIMIT    OF    SATANIC    POWER.  99 

himself  is  transformed  into  an  angel  of  light ;  there- 
fore it  is  no  great  thing  if  his  ministers  also  be  trans- 
formed as  the  ministers  of  righteousness."  2  Cor.  xi. 
3,  13-15.  Then,  being  constrained  by  the  injustice 
done  to  his  character  by  these  lying  preachers,  the 
apostle  draws  a  picture  of  his  sufferings,  and  the  reve- 
lations vouchsafed  to  him,  ending  with  the  chastening 
dispensation,  the  "  thorn  in  the  flesh,"  with  which  Satan 
was  permitted  to  afflict  him  permanently.  The  whole 
epistle  to  the  Galatians,  as  it  turns  on  the  subject,  of 
mischief  wrought  by  these  "  false  apostles,"  is  an  ex- 
posure of  Satan's  wiles,  and  a  testimony  of  the  grief  and 
anxiety  wherewith  he  perpetually  disturbed  the  zeal- 
ous Paul.  In  the  beautiful  epistle  to  the  Ephesians, 
the  apostle  confirms  all  the  doctrinal  and  practical  in- 
struction of  the  first  five  chapters,  by  that  emphatic 
exhortation  which  cannot  be  too  often  recited.  "  Fi- 
nally, my  brethren,  be  strong  in  the  Lord,  and  in  the 
power  of  his  might ;  put  on  the  whole  armour  of  God, 
that  ye  may  be  able  to  stand  against  the  wiles  of  the 
devil..  For  we  wrestle  not  against  flesh  and  blood, 
but  against  principalities,  against  powers,  against  the 
rulers  of  the  darkness  of  this  world,  against  spiritual 
wickedness  (or  Wicked  spirits)  in  high  (or  heavenly) 
places."  Eph.  vi.  10-12.  He  had  comforted  the 
Romans  with  the  assurance  that  "  neither  angels,  nor 
principalities,  nor  powers," — and  none  but  evil  ones 
could  attempt  it, — "should  be  able  to  separate  him 
from  the  love  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus ;"  Rom.  viii.  38, 
39 ;  thus  always  bearing  in  mind  the  limit  of  Satanic 


100  OF  evil  spirits: 

power.  To  the  Colossians  he  speaks  with  joy  of  hav- 
ing been  delivered  "  from  the  power  of  darkness ;" 
Col.  i.  13 ;  and  with  holy  exultation  of  the  work  of 
Christ,  in  that  "  having  spoiled  principalities,  and 
powers,  he  made  a  show  of  them  openly,  triumphing 
over  them  in  it;"  (ii.  15,)  and  warns  them  of  the 
devices  that  may  be  practised  to  beguile  them  into  the 
worshiping  of  angels,  and  other  unchristian  practices. 
He  tells  the  Thessalonians,  "  We  would  have  come 
unto  you,  even  I  Paul,  once  and  again,  but  Satan  hin- 
dered us;"  (1  Thess.  ii.  18  ;)  thus  proving  that  even 
in  designing  a  journey,  the  enemy  met  and  thwarted 
him  :  and  in  the  second  epistle  he  sets  forth,  (chap,  ii,) 
the  particulars  of  that  fearful  apostasy  from  the  faith 
which  has  been  well  described  as  "  Satan's  master- 
piece," the  rise,  progress,  and  final  destruction  of  the 
Papal  Antichrist.  The  same  apostasy  is  again  fore- 
told to  Timothy.  1.  Tim.  iv.  1-3.  The  apostle  also 
laments  that  Satan  has  already  drawn  some  women 
aside  after  him,  through  idleness  and  tattling,  chap.  v. 
13-15,  and  urges  Timothy  to  seek  the  recovery  of 
such  as  still  remain  in  the  snare  of  the  devil,  2  Tim. 
ii.  25,  26,  and  after  recapitulating  the  evil  wrought 
against  him  by  those  whom  the  enemy  had  stirred  up, 
among  professed  followers,  he  concludes  with  a  tri- 
umphant assurance  of  his  approaching,  final  victory 
and  rest.  The  more  we  refer  to  those  early  days  of 
the  Christian  dispensation,  the  better  shall  we  be  armed 
against  what  now  is,  and  prepared  for  what  is  to  come. 
It  is  indeed  impossible  exactly  to  measure  the  ful)  ex- 


THE    LIMIT    OF    SATANIC    POWER.  101 

tent  of  Satanic  power ;  but  this  we  know,  be  it  of 
whatever  magnitude,  the  Lord  hath  set  it  bounds  which 
it  cannot  pass :  our  most  holy  faith  is  the  great  ap- 
pointed bearer;  and  in  proportion  as  we  diligently 
build  ourselves  up  on  that,  we  shall  be  safe. 


0* 


IX. 


SATANIC    WRATH,    AS   THE   END    DRAWS 
NIGH. 

Hitherto,  our  principal  concern  has  been  with  the 
history  of  the  past :  we  now  enter  upon  the  no  less 
certain  history  of  the  future.  To  suppose  that  God 
has  vouchsafed  to  show  unto  his  servants  the  things 
which  must  shortly  come  to  pass,  yet  has  shown  them 
in  such  a  way  as  to  darken  and  perplex  the  honest  in- 
quirer, is  to  do  Him  great  wrong.  No,  the  word 
spoken  is,  "  Write  the  vision,  and  make  it  plain  upon 
tables,  that  he  may  run  that  readeth  it ;  for  the  vision 
is  yet  for  an  appointed  time,  but  at  the  end  it  shall 
speak,  and  not  lie :  though  it  tarry,  wait  for  it ;  be- 
cause it  will  surely  come,  it  will  not  tarry."  Hab. 
ii.  2,  3. 

In  various  parts  of  Scripture,  but  more  particularly 
in  the  discourses  of  our  Lord,  shortly  before  bis  cru- 
cifixion, we  are  apprized  of  a  period  immediately  pre- 
ceding the  commencement  of  Christ's  glorious  reign 
upon  earth,  when  tribulation  such  as  the  world  has 
never  yet  seen  shall  prevail,  if  not  universally,  at  least 


SATANIC    WRATH.  103 

in  those  parts  of  the  earth  to  which  the  general  word 
of  prophecy  refers.  Daniel  thus  speaks  of  it ;  or 
rather,  the  celestial  Being  who  came  to  instruct  Daniel : 
k-  At  that  time  shall  Michael  stand  up,  the  great  prince 
which  standeth  for  the  children  of  thy  people  ;  and 
there  shall  be  a  time  of  trouble,  such  as  never  was 
since  there  was  a  nation,  even  to  that  time."  Dan.  xii. 
1.  This  is  mentioned  as  taking  place  at  the  time  of 
the  destruction  of  what  we  have  every  reason  to  believe 
is  the  Turkish  empire  ;  and  synchronizing  with  the 
duration  of  that  empire,  is  the  period  of  1260  days 
mentioned  in  Rev.  xii.  6,  at  the  end  of  which  we  are 
told,  "  There  was  war  in  heaven  ;  Michael  and  his 
angels  fought  against  the  dragon ;  and  the  dragon 
fought,  and  his  angels."'  The  whole  passage  has 
already  been  given,  (page  24  ;)  and  the  concluding 
words  are  terribly  impressive,  "  Rejoice  ye  heavens, 
and  them  that  dwell  in  them.  Wo  to  the  inhabiters 
of  the  earth  and  of  the  sea  !  for  the  devil  is  come  down 
unto  you,  having  great  wrath,  because  he  knoweth 
that  he  hath  but  a  short  time,*'  (verse  12.)  The  tribu- 
lation then,  which  excites  the  exclamation  of  "wo!" 
from  the  heavenly  voice,  is  the  work  of  Satan,  permit- 
ted to  plunge  the  world  into  one  great  final  trouble ; 
overruled  for  the  purification  of  God's  children,  and 
the  destruction  of  his  enemies.  In  the  message  to  the 
church  of  Philadelphia,  which  has  endured  to  this  day, 
the  same  period  is  probably  referred  to.  "  Because 
thou  hast  kept  the  word  of  my  patience,  I  also  will 
keep  thee  from  the  hour  of  temptation  which  shall 
come  upon  all  the  world,  to  try  them  that  dwell  upon 


104  OF  evil  spirits: 

the  earth."  Rev.  iii.  10.  Such  being  the  declared 
purpose  of  God,  and  Satan  being  the  immediate  inflicter 
of  the  terrible  chastisement,  let  us,  with  awe,  reve- 
rence, and  godly  fear,  yet  confident  in  Him  through 
whom  we  shall  be  enabled  to  escape  every  snare,  and 
to  be  "  more  than  conquerors,"  approach  this  subject ; 
convinced  that  whatever  he  has  caused  to  be  written, 
was  written  for  our  learning. 

We  are  told  by  our  Lord  that  "  wars  and  rumors 
of  wars,  distress  of  nations  and  perplexity,"  shall  usher 
in  these  fearful  times.  War  is  an  element  that  Satan 
must  exceedingly  delight  in  ;  for  it  often  cuts  off  in 
their  sins  more  souls  in  a  day  than  by  natural  death  he 
can  hope  to  grasp  in  many  years.  It  fosters  every 
bad  passion ;  its  origin  is  in  the  lusts  that  war  in  our 
members,  desiring  things  that  in  God's  providence  are 
withheld  from  us,  and  wading  to  them  through  the 
blood  of  our  brethren.  A  hateful,  an  accursed  thing 
it  is;  wholly  irreconcilable  with  the  gospel,  or  with 
any  one  precept  of  the  gospel  ;  yet  Satan  prevails  to 
make  "  wars  and  fightings  "  not  only  a  branch  of  their 
policy,  but  even  a  matter  of  boasting  among  nations 
professedly  Christian.  One  of  his  first  achievements 
in  this  closing  convulsion,  will  be  to  put  the  nations  in 
battle  array,  one  against  another,  and  all  against  God. 
Earthquakes,  famines,  pestilences,  fearful  sights,  and 
supernatural  signs,  domestic  treachery,  and  public  hos- 
tility, are  all  enumerated  as  concurrent  evidences  of 
the  time  when  the  three  "spirits  of  devils,"  (Rev.  xvi. 
13,)  shall  have  entered  upon  their  internal  mission.  It 
were  easy  to  speculate  as  to  the  precise  nature  of  their 


SATANIC    WRATH.  105 

operations,  and  the  particulars  of  the  tremendous  bat- 
tle-field into  which  they  will  bring  the  deceived  hosts  ; 
but  the  subject  is  too  solemn  for  such  guess-work ;  it 
better  becomes  us  to  receive  with  reverent  thankful- 
ness the  intimations  actually  given,  and  to  wait  pa- 
tiently the  appointed  time  for  making  manifest  what 
the  Lord  hath  decreed.  The  "  fearful  sights  "  which 
are  spoken  of  in  such  connexion  as  to  make  it  plain 
they  will  be  of  a  supernatural  character,  are  here 
represented  as  the  performance  of  miracle-working 
devils.  The  great  Antichrist,  Popery,  is  described  as 
him  "  whose  coming  is  after  the  working  of  Satan,  with 
all  power,  and  signs,  and  lying  wonders,  and  all  de- 
ceivableness  of  unrighteousness ;"  (2  Thess.  ii.  9;) 
and  though,  in  a  measure,  this  has  been  characteristic 
of  the  Papacy  from  its  first  rise,  still  we  are  led  to 
expect  a  very  great  accession  of  devilish  power  at  that 
time,  when  the  Lord  is  approaching  to  destroy  the 
Deceiver  with  the  brightness  of  His  coming.  There 
is,  so  to  speak,  an  antagonist  "  coming "  of  Popery 
described  when  the  Lord  himself  comes  to  judge  and 
to  reign:  when  the  dragon,  the  beast,  and  the  false 
prophet,  each  contribute  a  missionary  devil,  invested 
with  extraordinary  powers,  to  tempt  the  kings  and 
nations  of  the  earth  to  battle  against  the  Lord  God 
Almighty.  Great  indeed  must  be  the  liberty  given  to 
the  evil  One  when  thus  far  he  will  prevail ;  and  that 
he  lacks  only  liberty  to  accomplish  it  is  clear  enough. 
When  leave  was  granted  him  to  afflict  Job,  we  have 
seen  how  his  herds,  flocks,  servants,  houses,  children, 
and  health  passed  away,  as  it  were,  in  a  moment ; 


106  OF   EVIL    SPIRITS  : 

"like  a  rolling  thing  before  the  whirlwind."  Le» 
Satan  therefore,  receive  a  temporary  power  to  convulse 
our  globe,  and  what  fearful  "  earthquakes  "  will  ensue  ? 
Let  the  ripening  harvest  be  delivered  up  to  his  disposal, 
and  "famine"  will  stalk  abroad  in  forms  never  before 
witnessed  ;  while  the  "  pestilence  "  in  his  fierce,  ma- 
lignant hand,  will  transform  the  healthiest  population 
into  heaps  of  loathsome  corruption. 

God  can  arm  his  spiritual  creatures  with  a  terrible 
power  over  mortal  life.  The  destroying  angel  who 
smote  the  Egyptians,  is  an  instance  of  the  rapid  move- 
ment with  which  a  multitude  may  be  mown  down  ; 
and  it  is  remarkable  also  in  being  not  a  promiscuous 
slaughter,  like  that  of  Sennacherib's  army,  but  a  care- 
ful selection  made  from  every  family  in  every  house. 
An  angel,  too,  smote  the  people  of  Israel  when  David 
had  numbered  them,  the  description  of  whose  proceed- 
ings is  awfully  grand.  1  Sam.  xxiv.  26.  And  in  the 
next  verse  we  are  told,  "  David  saw  the  angel  that 
smote  the  people;"  therefore  to  resolve  it,  as  some 
attempt  to  do,  into  a  figurative  mode  of  expression,  is 
unwarrantable :  it  was  a  real  angel  of  God  ;  and  even 
such  was  Satan  before  he  fell ;  and  what  a  holy  angel 
can  do  by  a  divine  command,  thR  can  the  foul  apos- 
tate also  do  by  divine  permission. 

But  a  far  more  perilous  feature  of  those  predicted 
times  of  trial,  is  the  seduction  to  be  practised.  Satan 
understands  the  varieties  of  the  human  character  \  he 
knows  there  are  many  whom  open  persecution  would 
rouse  rather  than  intimidate,  and  for  them,  and  for 
God's  true  people,  he  has  snares  in  reserve.     He  can 


SATANIC    WRATH.  107 

make  his  own  murderous  acts  appear  as  the  righteous 
judgment  of  the  Most  High.  In  the  Revelation  we  are 
told,  that  the  Papal  beast  "  doeth  great  wonders,  so 
that  he  maketh  fire  to  come  down  from  heaven  on  the 
earth  in  the  sight  of  m£n,"  Rev.  xiii.  13  ;  and  that  he 
deceiveth  them  that  dwell  on  the  earth,  by  means  of 
those  miracles  which  he  hath  power  to  do.  We  may 
aaturally  conclude,  that  his  object  is  to  assume  divine 
authority  for  what  he  does,  by  bringing  the  destructive 
element  down,  as  when  the  Lord  rained  fire  and  brim- 
stone upon  the  cities  of  the  plain  ;  for  even  so  he 
wrought  to  terrify  Job,  while  he  stripped  him  of  his 
possessions. 

Domestic  treachery,  arming  kindred  hands,  is  also 
predicted — Luke  xxiv.  16  ;  so  that  a  man's  foes  shall 
be  "  they  of  his  own  household."  This  is  a  very  ancient 
device  of  Satan  :  he  first  rendered  Eve  the  deadliest 
foe  of  her  husband  and  of  her  whole  posterity,  by 
leading  her  to  transgress :  he  then  guided  the  hand  of 
the  first  man  born  into  the  world  to  slay  his  brother :  and 
history,  sacred  and  profane,  is  but  a  record  of  his  suc- 
cessful plots  against  the  peace  of  families  and  of  king- 
doms, by  means  of  every  species  of  treachery.  Here, 
as  of  old,  he  will  make  his  delusions  avail  to  draw  the 
deluded  into  all  cruelty  and  bloodshed.  His  terrible 
craft  is  able  to  persuade  a  man  that  falsehood  is  truth, 
and  that  in  slaying  the  righteous,  "  he  doeth  God  ser- 
vice ;"  hence  the  snare  against  which  the  Lord  most 
fully  and  emphatically  warned  his  first  disciples,  and 
against  which  he  also  warns  us — false  Christs,  and  false 
prophets.     We  know  thaf  just  previous  to  the  destruc- 


108  OF   EVIL    SPIRITS  : 

tion  of  Jerusalem,  when,  no  doubt,  Satan  hoped  to  in- 
volve the  Christians  in  the  general  ruin,  several  de- 
ceivers assumed  the  name  of  Christ,  and  drew  away 
many  after  them  :  it  is  plain  that  in  some  way,  these 
pretensions  will  again  be  put  forth  ;  and  we  have  rea- 
son to  look  steadily  at  that  which  is  already  written, 
lest  any  seeming  revelation,  contradictory  to  what  is 
given  to  be  our  guide  unto  the  end  of  the  world,  should 
be  contrived,  to  deceive,  if  it  were  possible,  the  very 
elect.  The  general  expectation,  prevailing  more  and 
more  throughout  the  church,  of  our  Lord's  promised 
coming,  will  doubtless  furnish  the  cunning  adversary 
with  additional  means  of  annoyance  and  destruction. 
Already,  and  for  centuries  past,  has  he  proclaimed, 
"  Behold!  he  is  in  the  secret  chambers  !"  to  the  eternal 
loss  of  unnumbered  souls  who,  believing  the  lie,  have 
worshiped  an  idol  enclosed  in  a  box,  upon  the  Popish 
altars ;  deifying  the  senseless  paste  in  Christ's  stead, 
and  perishing  in  their  sin.  Literally  and  distinctly  is 
a  "false  Christ"  held  forth  for  public  worship,  by  the 
"  false  prophets  "  of  Rome,  to  this  day  ;  and  no  one  is 
justified  in  questioning  the  express  fulfilment,  to  the 
letter,  of  all  that  our  Lord  has  foreshown.  Here, 
too,  there  is  warrant  enough  in  the  Old  Testament  to 
satisfy  the  most  incredulous.  When  the  king  of  Israel 
was  to  be  enticed  to  battle  at  Ramoth  Gilead,  where 
he  fell,  a  "  lying  spirit "  possessed  the  whole  company 
of  his  prophets,  so  that  they  all  predicted  his  success, 
in  the  name  of  the  Lord.  He,  "who  was  a  liar  from 
the  beginning,"  put  into  their  mouths  this  unauthorized 
prediction;    even  as  he  tempted   the  old   prophet  of 


SATANIC    WRATH.  109 

Bethel  to  deceive  the  man  of  God  who  came  out  of 
Judah :  and  in  like  manner  the  Jewish  people  were 
continually  transgressing  through  the  perfidious  words 
of  their  ungodly  teachers,  saying,  "Peace,  peace," 
where  there  was  no  peace.  There  seems  to  be  a  pre- 
vailing belief  among  Christians,  that  the  enmity  of  the 
last  day  will  break  forth  in  the  form  of  open,  out- 
rageous infidel  defiance  of  God  and  his  Christ ;  and  so 
it  probably  will  to  a  great  extent :  but  surely  not  ex- 
clusively so :  Satan  will  not  wholly  give  up  his  old 
craft  of  forging  God's  name  and  authority  for  deeds 
most  desperately  subversive  of  His  laws,  and  insulting 
to  His  majesty.  "  That  old  serpent "  retains  the  desig- 
nation, and,  no  doubt,  the  deep,  subtle  plausibility 
which  it  implies,  to  the  very  moment  when  an  elect 
angel  lays  hold  on  him,  and  binds  him,  and  shuts  and 
seals  him  up,  "  that  he  should  deceive  the  nations  no 
more,  till  the  thousand  years  should  be  fulfilled." 
Rev.  xx.  3.  And  again,  "When  the  thousand  years 
are  expired,  Satan  shall  be  loosed  out  of  his  prison, 
and  shall  go  out  to  deceive  the  nations  which  are  in  the 
four  quarters  of  the  earth,"  (verses  7,  8.)  Such  con- 
siderations would  render  us  more  watchful  against 
forms  of  error,  creeping  with  serpent-like  guile  into 
the  Church  itself,  and  stealing  on  the  unguarded  points 
of  the  citadel,  where,  as  no  open  enemy  is  descried,  no 
adequate  defence  is  prepared. 

The    extraordinary  movement    that,    some    ten   or 

twelve  years  since  excited  universal  attention,  when 

the  Scotch  Church  in  London  was  considered  to  be  the 

scene  of  miraculous  manifestations  of  divine  power, 

10 


110  OF   EVIL    SPIRITS  I 

wore  very  much  the  aspect  of  a  preparatory  manoeu- 
vre of  the  enemy.  Some  things  took  place  that  it  is 
very  hard  to  account  for,  without  admitting  the  aid  of 
a  supernatural  power ;  and  to  suppose  that  power  to 
have  been  of  God  is  impossible,  when  we  remember 
with  what  an  awful  heresy  it  was*  connected.  That 
party  set  up  indeed  a  "  false  Christ  " — a  Christ  com- 
pounded of  Popish  and  Socinian  errors,  a  blasphemous 
counterfeit  of  Him  who  was  holy,  harmless,  undefiled, 
and  separate  from  sinners.  The  manner  of  bringing 
in  this  perilous  deceit,  was  exceedingly  like  what  the 
Scripture  leads  us  to  expect  of  Satan's  latter-day  de- 
vices ;  and  it  is  remarkable,  that  just  as  the  Lord 
placed  an  evident  barrier  to  stay  the  farther  spread  of 
this  delusion,  another  masked  battery  against  the  truth 
of  Christ's  gospel,  subversive,  at  once,  of  His  atoning 
and  His  mediatorial  all-sufficiency,  was  opened  at  Ox- 
ford, and  has  worked,  and  is  working  to  the  same  end 
with  the  Irvingite  heresy,  only  with  a  different  kind  of 
assumption.  In  the  former  attempt,  the  gospel  was  to 
be  set  aside  by  a  new  revelation,  accompanied  with 
attesting  signs  and  wonders,  as  from  the  hand  of  its 
Almighty  Author :  under  the  latter  system,  men  claim  a 
power,  in  virtue  of  the  commission  delivered  to  the  apos- 
tles, of  new  modeling  all  things :  thinking  to  "  change 
times  and  laws,"  (Dan.  vii.  25,)  after  the  manner, 
and  on  the  same  ground  as  the  Papacy,  that  convicted 
child  of  the  devil :  and  into  which  the  whole  thing  will 
probably  soon  resolve  itself,  in  t«ie  face  of  all  men. 
These  small  droppings  are  at  once  a  potent  and  a  sam- 
ple of  the  coming  shower;  and  we  shall  do  well  so  to 


SATANIC    WRATH.  Ill 

regard  them,  and  to  take  timely  shelter  under  the  sha- 
dow of  the  immovable  rock. 

The  distinguishing  mark  of  Satan's  false  Christs  is, 
that  they  are  only  half  Saviours ;  man  is,  in  some  way, 
to  make  up  the  deficiency :  and  so,  seeking  to  be  jus- 
tified by  the  law,  he  falls  from  grace — Gal.  v.  4.  Sa- 
tan well  knows  how  sure  is  that  word,  which  received 
its  primary  accomplishment  on  the  day  of  Pentecost. 
"  It  shall  come  to  pass,  that  whosoever  shall  call  on 
the  name  of  the  Lord  shall  be  delivered  " — Joel  ii.  32  ; 
and  when  the  final  "  great  and  terrible  day  "  shall 
draw  near,  he  will  put  forth  all  his  subtlety  to  deceive 
men,  that  they  may  call  on  some  name  which  can  af- 
ford no  deliverance,  like  Baal's  priests  ;  or,  as  did  the 
sons  of  Sceva,  call  unbelievingly  on  Him  who  is  nigh 
to  help  only  when  the  prayer  is  breathed  from  the  lip 
of  faith.  • 

Nor  is  his  craft  in  this  matter  confined  to  the  exhi- 
bition of  something  manifestly  different  from  the  truth  : 
there  is  a  way  of  preaching  even  the  pure  doctrines  of 
the  Bible,  that  will  in  a  great  measure  neutralize  their 
effects.  The  apostle  could  declare,  "  we  preach  not 
ourselves,  but  Christ  Jesus  the  Lord;"  and  so  they 
did,  as  we  may  perceive  from  the  recorded  sermons 
of  these  first  inspired  teachers,  in  the  book  of  Acts : 
the  sum  and  substance  of  their  discourse  was,  "  Flee 
from  the  wrath  to  come."  They  showed  the  terrors 
of  that  wrath,  and  they  held  forth  Jesus  Christ  as  the 
only  refuge  from  it ;  as  they  told  of  his  death  and  re- 
surrection, his  power  in  heaven  and  in  earth,  and  the 
certainty  of  his  coming  to  judge  and  to  reign.     "  Be  it 


112  OF   EVIL    SPIRITS  : 

known  to  you,"  was  their  proclamation  to  the  Jews, 
"  that  through  this  man  is  preached  unto  you  the  for 
giveness  of  sins  ;  and  by  him  all  that  believe  are  jus- 
titled  from  all  things,  from  which  ye  could  not  be  jus- 
tified by  the  law  of  Moses."  Acts  xiii.  38,  39.  To 
the  Gentiles  they  declared,  "  To  him  give  all  the  pro- 
phets witness,  that  through  his  name,  whosoever  be- 
lieveth  in  him  shall  receive  remission  of  sins ;"  (Acts 
x.  43  ;)  and  this  mode  of  preaching  is  according  to  the 
mind  of  God :  He  owns  it,  and  blesses  it ;  and  by  its 
simplicity,  which  in  the  wisdom  of  this  world  is  called 
"  foolishness,"  he  saves  them  that  believe.  1  Cor.  i. 
21.  There  is  nothing  Satan  dreads  more  than  a  min- 
istry of  this  stamp ;  accordingly  he  draws  men  away 
from  the  homely  backward  path,  fills  them  with  no- 
tions of  their  own  sufficiency,  persuades  them  that 
originality  is  a  great  gift,  much  to  be  coveted,  and  that 
intellect  is  the  right  door  to  men's  souls.  He  points 
out  here  a  Paul,  there  an  Apollos,  and  in  another  pul- 
pit a  Cephas :  whose  respective  hearers  presently  dis- 
cover, each  that  his  own  minister  is  the  very  model  of 
all  that  a  minister  ought  to  be,  and  his  style  of  preach- 
ing precisely  what  is  most  needed.  Hence  we  hear 
whispers  among  the  separating  congregations,  not  of 
conscience-stricken  sorrow  for  sin,  not  of  awakened 
praise  for  salvation,  not  of  deep  desire  for  the  continu- 
ed presence  of  him  who  has  been  (or  ought  to  have 
been)    visibly  set  forth  crucified  among  them ;     but 

"  What  a  splendid  discourse  !     How  great  Mr. 

was  to  day!     What  eloquence,  what  imagery,  what 
clear  views  he  takes !     Certainly  our  pastor  has  no 


SATANIC    WEATH.  113 

equal  among  his  brethren."  Hence  that  system  of 
sermon-hunting,  which  as  Cecil  well  remarked,  is  lit- 
tle better  than  fox-hunting ;  hence  the  Sabbath  desecra- 
tion,  the  carriage  called  out  to  bear  its  owner  to  some 
favourite  place  of  worship ;  the  horses  robbed  of  their 
assigned  season  of  repose,  the  attendant  domestics 
either  excluded  from,  or  cruelly  curtailed  in  their  share 
of  religious  ordinances  ;  and  so,  too  often,  carnality  is 
insensibly  substituted  for  spirituality. 

This  ought  not  to  be :  an  adversary  hath  done  it, 
and  the  same  adversary  well  knows  what  immense 
advantage  he  must  gain  by  the  system,  when  he  suc- 
ceeds in  drawing  one  of  these  popular  men  aside  from 
the  straight  path.  Many  of  those  who  think  they  only 
follow  the  teacher,  because  he  follows  Christ,  will  be 
betrayed  into  still  following  him,  when  he  has  turned 
his  back  upon  the  Lord.  Satan  first  infected  man  with 
his  own  diabolical  disease — pride ;  and  the  whole  turn 
of  the  gospel  of  Christ  is  to  provide  an  antidote  for  that 
venom.  And  first,  the  preaching  of  the  cross  is  a  cross 
to  the  preacher,  if  he  do  it  aright ;  for  he  must  be 
content  to  forego  much  of  what  is  highly  esteemed 
among  men,  and  to  be  nothing  that  Christ  may  be  all. 
Line  upon  line,  line  upon  line ;  precept  upon  precept, 
precept  upon  precept;  the  wearisome  repetition  of  that 
one  story,  "  Jesus  Christ  came  into  the  world  to  save 
sinners;"  that  one  warning,  "  He  that  believethnot  the 
Son  shall  not  see  life ;  but  the  wrath  of  God  abideth 
on  him :"  that  one  direction,  "  Repent,  and  be  con- 
verted, that  your  sins  may  be  blotted  out :"  such  a 
mode  of  dealing  with  a  world  dead  in  trespasses  and 
10* 


114  OF  evil  spirits: 

sins,  will  never  give  the  preacher  undue  pre-eminence 
among  men,  but  it  will  glorify  his  master,  and  save 
souls. 

Where  now  shall  we  go  for  this  heaven-inspired 
strain  ?  Many  such  ministers  there  doubtless  are 
whose  rule  of  teaching  is  "  Christ  exalted,  and  self- 
abased  ;"  but  we  may  more  readily  find  the  thing 
which  Satan  fears  in  the  pages  of  John  Bunyan,  or 
John  Flavel,  than  from  the  lips  of  eloquent  pastors  in 
our  own  day.  If  Paul  should  come  to  hold  a  visitation 
of  what  we  have  reason  to  believe  was  once  a  part  of 
his  own  wide  diocese,  surely  he  would  be  constrained 
to  put  the  searching  question,  "  Are  ye  not  carnal  ?" 

We  are  now  writing  of  Satanic  wrath  as  his  permit- 
ted day  shortens,  and  his  wrath  does  not  always  vent 
itself  in  explosions  of  rage.  It  works  sometimes  in  se- 
crecy and  darkness ;  fierce,  indeed,  and  cruel  always 
but  never  devoid  of  skilful  cunning  to  direct  it.  There 
is  as  much  of  his  wrath  in  the  speaking  of  smooth 
things,  and  the  prophesying  of  peace  to  those  with 
whom  the  Lord  has  a  controversy,  as  in  the  greatest 
tumult  of  violence.  Who  shall  tell  the  extent  of  that 
wrathful  hatred  against  God  and  his  fair  creation, 
which  prompted  the  bland  insinuating  lie,  "  Ye  shall 
not  surely  die."  Oh  that  ministers  and  congregations 
would  bear  in  mind,  equally  bear  in  mind  how  great 
a  stake  the  enemy  has  in  drawing  away  their  minds 
from  the  unadorned  simplicity  that  is  in  the  doctrines 
of  the  cross. 

But  the  doctrine  of  the  crown  is  another  which  he 
now  struggles  with  all  his  infernal  might  to  suppress. 


SATANIC   WRATH.  115 

A  crucified  Saviour,  an  atoning  sacrifice,  a  mediating 
High  Priest  in  heaven,  he  loathes  to  think  on,  or  to  suf- 
fer his  bond-slaves  to  hear  of;  but  a  reigning  king, 
about  to  rescue  the  earth  from  all  his  usurpations,  to 
plant  his  throne  in  righteousness  in  the  midst  of  his  peo- 
ple, to  send  forth  his  word  from  Zion,  and  his  law  from 
Jerusalem.  This  is  the  very  knell  of  Satan's  depar- 
ture; and  to  stifle  the  sound  he  will  foster  humility 
itself,  or  any  grace  by  the  perversion  of  which  he  may 
hope  to  seal  the  preacher's  lips  on  that  fearful  topic. 
For  eighteen  centuries  he  has  heard  the  petition  re- 
sounding on  all  sides,  "Thy  kingdom  come;"  and  he 
cares  not  how  often  it  is  reiterated,  (as  witness  the  Pa- 
pacy with  its  everlasting  repetitions  of  Pater-nosters,) 
so  long  as  men  do  not  inquire  into  the  nature  of  that 
coming  kingdom,  or  watch  for  its  approach.  An  im- 
perfect Gospel  he  can  tolerate,  and  in  our  day  that  is 
an  imperfect  Gospel  which  omits  the  great  truth  of  a 
speedy  manifestation  of  the  Lord  from  heaven.  The 
sound  of  his  conqueror's  chariot  wheels  is  a  fearful 
sound  to  Satan;  and  knowing  that  nothing  will  so 
surely  turn  the  attention  of  the  Church  upon  himself 
as  the  heralding  of  Christ's  approach,  he  will  strike  al- 
most any  bargain,  of  which  a  condition  is  the  silencing 
of  that  ominous  voice. 

In  connexion  with  this  part  of  the  subject,  we  may 
call  to  mind  the  parable  of  our  Lord,  where  he  de- 
scribes the  proceedings  of  the  unclean  spirit,  who  has 
left  for  a  time  his  habitation,  as  distinguished  from  that 
effectual  expulsion  which  God  only  can  accomplish. 
"  When  the  unclean  spirit  is  gone  out  of  a  man,  he 


116  OF  evil  spirits: 

walketh  through  dry  places,  seeking  rest ;  and  finding 
none,  he  saith,  I  will  return  unto  my  house,  whence  I 
came  out :  and  when  he  cometh,  he  findeth  it  swept 
and  garnished.  Then  goeth  he,  and  taketh  to  him 
seven  other  spirits, 'more  wicked  than  himself;  and 
they  enter  in,  and  dwell  there :  and  the  last  state  of 
that  man  is  worse  than  the  first.  Luke  xi.  24 — 26. 
We  may  be  assured  that  attempts  at  such  re-entrance, 
under  aggravated  forms,  into  every  person  who  may 
appear  to  have  been  delivered  from  the  power  of  Satan, 
will  be  made  as  the  time  shortens,  and  the  enemy's 
rage  increases ;  and  hence  the  cruel  treachery  that 
Christ's  people  must  look  for  at  the  hands  of  their 
nearest  connexions  and  dearest  companions.  Many  an 
Ahithopel  will  be  found ;  many  a  Judas  to  revolt  from 
his  friend,  and  to  betray  his  master ;  and  many  an  un- 
suspecting Christian  will  have  to  take  up  the  prophetic 
complaint,  "  It  was  thou,  a  man,  mine  equal,  my  guide, 
and  mine  acquaintance;  we  took  sweet  counsel  to- 
gether, and  walked  unto  the  house  of  God  in  company. 
Psalm  lv.  13,  14. 

It  is  of  the  first  importance  that  we  should  be  pre- 
pared not  only  for  an  outburst  of  Satanic  malignity 
and  cruelty,  such  as  was  never  before  permitted  to  de- 
vastate our  world,  but  also  for  a  manifestation  of  Sa- 
tanic potency,  such  as  men  are  fast  losing  all  belief  in. 
We  do  not  give  the  enemy  credit  for  possessing  such 
powers  as  the  word  of  God  distinctly  ascribes  to  him  ; 
we  are  apt  to  fancy  that  the  blow  miraculously  inflict- 
ed on  him  during  the  early  years  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment church,  has  crippled  him  forever ;  and  we  there- 


SATANIC   WRATH.  117 

fore  look  for  nothing  more,  in  the  things  that  are  com- 
ing on  the  earth,  than  a  peculiar  readiness  on  the  part 
of  bad  men,  to  act  upon  his  cunning  suggestions.  The 
consequence  of  this  unguarded  state  of  mind  will  be, 
that  when  leaders  appear,  assuming  new  ground,  and 
confirming  their  assumptions  by  doing  real  marvels  in 
our  sight,  we  shall  be  tempted  to  receive  them  as  Si- 
mon Magus  was  received  of  old  by  the  people  whom 
he  bewitched  with  his  sorceries :  "  To  whom  they  all 
gave  heed,  from  the  least  to  the  greatest,  saying,  This 
man  is  the  great  power  of  God."  Acts  viii.  10.  Not 
a  few  of  those  who  held  out  against  the  Irvingite  her- 
esy in  the  days  of  its  success,  did  so,  as  they  ac- 
knowledged, only  because  its  apostles  failed  in  perform- 
ing any  really  miraculous  work.  Attempts  were  made 
to  raise  up  the  dying,  and  to  revive  the  dead;  and 
their  open  failure  cooled  the  zeal  of  some  very  anx- 
ious inquirers :  should  a  similar  delusion  be  brought 
forward,  and  such  things  actually  effected,  are  we  pre- 
pared to  resist  the  evidence  of  sense,  and  to  cling  to 
the  word  of  God  alone  ?  We  shall  be  better  armed  for 
such  a  trial,  by  giving  serious  heed  to  what  the  Bible 
testifies  in  the  passages  here  cited,  and  receiving  the 
predictions  in  their  simple,  literal  acceptation. 

Popery  is  now  heaping  up  its  stately  piles  of  archi- 
tecture throughout  the  land,  fitted,  no  doubt,  in  their 
secret  recesses,  with  a  vast  machinery  for  the  exhibi- 
tion of  "lying  wonders"  on  a  grand  scale,  by  which 
many  will  be  snared  and  taken :  but  though  a  princi- 
pal, still  Popery  is  not  likely  to  be  the  sole  manifesta- 
tion of  Satan  in  these  coming  horrors.     Forms  of  error 


118  OF  evil  spirits: 

less  openly  revolting  than  the  gross  idolatry  of  that 
system,  but  not  less  fatal  to  the  soul  if  persisted  in,  will 
be  supplied,  for  those  who  would  hurl  the  anathema 
at  an  angel  from  heaven,  if  he  dared  to  preach  up  the 
mass.  Some  will  be  led  astray,  but  not  finally ;  for 
it  is  plainly  said,  "  Some  of  them  of  understanding  shall 
fall,  to  try  them,  and  to  purge,  and  to  make  them  white, 
even  to  the  time  of  the  end."  Dan.  xi.  35.  And  to 
this  the  apostle  seems  to  refer,  where  he  says  of  the 
sins  and  judgments  of  Israel,  "  Now  all  these  things 
happened  unto  them  for  ensamples,  and  they  are  writ- 
ten for  our  admonition,  upon  whom  the  ends  of  the 
world  are  come.  Wherefore,  let  him  that  thinketh  he 
standeth,  take  heed  lest  he  fall."  1  Cor.  x.  11, 12.  No 
vain  speculation  should  mix  itself  up  with  this  solemn 
subject :  It  is  one  where  each  believer  must  seek  in- 
struction how  to  arm  himself  for  the  great  battle,  in 
which  he  may  expect  ere  long  to  be  engaged :  the 
word  of  God  alone,  prayerfully  studied  and  practically 
applied,  will  show  to  each  of  us  the  might,  the  wrath, 
and  the  purpose  of  our  adversary.  It  will  also  show 
us  how  that  adversary  is  to  be  met  and  conquered ; 
even  by  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  and  by  the  word  of  our 
testimony. 


THE  DOOM   OF   SATAN  AND    HIS  ANGELS. 

In  the  sentence  pronounced  upon  the  serpent,  it  was 
declared  that  the  seed  of  the  woman  should  bruise  his 
head.  A  blow  inflicted  on  the  vital  part  indicates  final 
destruction ;  and  in  accordance  with  this,  the  apostle 
tells  us  that  our  Lord  Jesus  became  partaker  of  flesh 
and  blood,  "  that  through  death  he  might  destroy  him 
that  had  the  power  of  death,  that  is  the  devil."  Heb. 
ii.  14.  We  find  the  great  enemy,  first  an  angel,  not 
keeping  his  holy  estate,  but  becoming  rebellious,  trans- 
formed into  a  liar  and  a  murderer,  composing  the  ruin 
of  this  beautiful  creation,  and  drawing  a  creature, 
made  in  the  image  of  God,  into  deadly  transgression 
against  his  merciful  and  glorious  Maker.  Still  having 
occasional  access  to  heavenly  places,  we  find  him 
availing  himself  of  it  to  accuse  before  God  those  whom 
he  had  tempted  into  sin,  and  to  resist  the  work  of  mer- 
cy towards  man.  Then,  cast  wholly  out  of  heaven, 
we  learn  that  he  vents  his  great  wrath  upon  the  in- 
habitants of  earth;  and  for  a  limited  time  plunges  them 


120  OF  evil  spirits: 

in  fearful  woes.  Lastly,  the  doom  for  which  he  knows 
himself  to  be  reserved  is  inflicted  ;  and  he,  with  all  his 
legions  of  accursed  spirits,  are  cast  into  a  pit  of  sul- 
phurous flames,  there  to  abide  forever  and  ever. 

The  intimations  given  of  this  final  judgment  are 
many  and  explicit.  Jude,  with  whose  words  we  com- 
menced our  proofs,  in  those  words  declared  the  end  : 
"  The  angels  that  kept  not  their  first  estate,  but  left 
their  own  habitation,  he  hath  reserved  in  everlasting 
chains  under  darkness,  unto  the  judgment  of  the  great 
day."  Jude  6.  They  are,  themselves,  perfectly  well 
aware  of  what  is  coming  upon  them  ;  as  St.  James  im- 
plies when  speaking  of  a  faith  that  works  not  by  love, 
an  acknowledgment  of  God's  being,  power,  and  justice 
without  any  sense  of  redeeming  mercy,  any  conformity 
to  his  will.  "  Thou  believest  that  there  is  one  God ; 
thou  doest  well :  the  devils  also  believe  and  tremble." 
James  ii.  29.  They  made  the  same  admission  them- 
selves, when  terrified  by  the  sudden  appearance  of 
their  dreaded  Judge.  The  "  legion  "  saw  him  com- 
ing : — "  And  behold  they  cried  out,  saying,  What  have 
we  to  do  with  thee,  Jesus,  thou  Son  of  God  ?  Art  thou 
come  hither  to  torment  us  before  the  time  ?"  Matt.  viii. 
29.  And  again  the  unclean  spirit  in  the  synagogue, — 
"  Let  us  alone ;  what  have  we  to  do  with  thee,  thou 
Jesus  of  Nazareth  ?  Art  thou  come  to  destroy  us  ?  1 
know  thee  who  thou  art,  the  Holy  One  of  God."  Mark 
i.  24.  On  another  occasion  one  of  the  devils  "  be- 
sought him  much  that  he  would  not  send  them  away 
out  of  the  country;"  (Mark  v.  10;)  or  as  St.  Luke 
expresses  it,  "  They  besought  him  that  he  would  not 


THE    DOOM    OF    SATAN    AND   HIS   ANGELS.  121 

command  them  to  go  out  into  the  deep  ;"  (Luke  viii. 
31;)  by  which  must  be  understood  the  bottomless  pit ; 
since,  on  having  their  request  granted,  they  immedi- 
ately entered  the  swine,  and  of  their  own  accord,  rushed 
down  into  the  sea. 

Our  Lord  has  foreshown  their  dreadful  doom;  in 
which  all  who  remain  under  the  dominion  of  Satan, 
must  likewise  partake  :  "  Depart  from  me,  ye  cursed, 
into  everlasting  fire,  prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  an- 
gels." Matt.  xxv.  The  constant  contemplation  of  this 
their  certain  end,  must  greatly  aggravate  the  malig- 
nity of  evil  spirits :  nothing  is  so  hardening  as  despair. 
Their  sin  was  unpardonable  ;  and  Christ  "  took  not  on 
him  the  nature  of  angels,"  (Heb.  ii.  16,)  to  work  out 
for  them  the  redemption  which  in  his  infinite  compas- 
sion he  vouchsafed  to  achieve  for  their  wretched  vic- 
tim, man.  There  could  be  none  to  tempt  Satan  into 
rebellion  as  he  tempted  Eve  to  disobedience  ;  and  how 
irritating  must  it  be  to  a  mighty,  spiritual,  angelic  be- 
ing, to  see  a  creature  formed  out  of  the  dust,  redeemed 
from  his  power  at  so  vast  a  price  as  the  blood  of  the 
incarnate  God,  while  he,  and  the  myriads  of  his  com- 
panion spirits  are  passed  by — left  to  perish  forever! 
We  see  with  what  horrible  rage  and  cruelty  he  used 
the  power,  for  a  short  time  committed  to  him,  that  the 
innocent  Jesus  might  suffer.  Most  signally  was  he 
baffled !  he  came  against  Christ  to  tempt  and  seduce, 
and  was  repelled,  put  to  shame,  and  driven  away :  he 
came  against  him  to  smite  and  kill,  and  in  so  doing  was 
himself  destroyed ;  his  usurped  empire  wrested  from 
him,  the  prey  for  which  he  had  so  long  toiled  taken 
11 


122  OF  evil  spirits: 

out  of  his  net,  and  the  mortal  bruise  inflicted  on  his  ac- 
cursed head.  Our  blessed  Lord,  in  the  immediate 
prospect  of  his  sufferings,  said,  "  Now  is  the  judgment 
of  this  world :  now  shall  the  prince  of  this  world  be 
cast  out."  John  xii.  31.  The  result  was  certain,  the 
triumph  secured.  He  had  before,  in  the  rich  success 
of  the  first  Gospel  missionaries,  beheld  Satan  as  light- 
ning fall  from  heaven:  (Luke  x.  18  :)  now,  in  the  con- 
templation of  his  own  death,  "  the  travail  of  his  soul," 
he  saw  him  cast  out  from  his  last  refuge  on  earth,  and 
about  to  sink  into  the  lake  of  fire. 

The  order  of  events,  as  regards  this  final  casting  out, 
is  very  distinctly  set  forth.  We  have  already  seen  the 
predictions  of  that  short  period  of  great  wrath,  when 
Satan  and  his  attendant  devils  shall  try  the  world  with 
unprecedented  calamities,  and  gather  its  kings  and 
captains  to  battle  against  the  King  of  kings  and  Lord 
of  lords.  At  this  point  vengeance  first  overtakes  him : 
his  chosen  instrument,  the  beast,  and  the  false  prophets 
that  wrought  miracles  before  him,  are  taken,  and  cast 
alive  into  a  lake  of  fire  burning  with  brimstone  :  (Rev. 
xix.  20 :)  and  then  follows  the  event  to  which  the 
Church  looks  forward  with  such  longing  desire  :  "  And 
I  saw  an  angel  come  down  from  heaven,  having  the 
key  of  the  bottomless  pit,  and  a  great  chain  in  his 
hand :  and  he  laid  hold  on  the  dragon,  that  old  ser- 
pent, which  is  the  devil,  and  Satan,  and  bound  him 
a  thousand  years,  and  cast  him  into  the  bottomless  pit, 
and  shut  him  up,  and  set  a  seal  upon  him,  that  he  should 
deceive  the  nations  no  more  till  the  thousand  years 
should  be  fulfilled :  and  after  that,  he  must  be  loosed 


THE    DOOM    OF    SATAN    AND   HIS    ANGELS.  123 

a  little  season."  Rev.  xx.  1 — 3.  This  chaining  and 
imprisoning  of  Satan  during  a  thousand  years,  whether 
they  be  literal  years,  or  prophetical  years  of  days,  and 
every  day  a  year,  is  most  mercifully  not  revealed  to 
us,  as  the  most  encouraging  support  under  the  trials 
that  precede  it.  Christ  will  then  have  taken  to  him  his 
great  power,  and  will  reign,  not  as  a  preached  but  as 
a  present  Saviour  and  King.  No  longer  shall  the  per- 
fidious  enemy  snatch  away  the  seed  of  divine  truth 
from  the  human  heart,  as  now  he  does :  (Matt.  xiii. 
19  :)  no  longer  shall  he  prevail  to  sow  his  worthless 
tares  among  the  true  wheat  ofthe  Church ;  (verse  39  ;) 
his  hateful  presence  will  no  longer  vex,  nor  his  malig- 
nant power  oppress  the  world.  Violence  shall  cease  : 
"They  shall  not  hurt  nor  destroy,  in  all  my  holy 
mountain;"  (Isaiah  xi.  11;)  ignorance,  superstition, 
and  unbelief  shall  vanish :  "  The  earth  shall  be  full 
of  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord,  as  the  waters  cover  the 
sea." 

The  creatures  of  Jehovah  shall  no  longer  be  be- 
guiled into  tempting  and  dishonouring  their  Creator, 
by  following  after  false  gods,  or  setting  up  stumbling- 
blocks  of  rebellious  iniquity  in  their  hearts,  for  "  The 
Lord  shall  be  king  over  all  the  earth :  in  that  day, 
there  shall  be  one  Lord,  and  his  name  One."  Zech. 
xiv.  9.  It  is  impossible  to  conceive  the  amount  of  hap- 
piness to  be  derived  from  the  mere  absence  of  Satan, 
even  were  no  positive  blessing  to  accompany  the  neg- 
ative good :  but  since  his  capture  and  committal  will 
be  the  result  of  His  coming  again  into  the  kingdom 
whose  right  it  is,  we  may  well  be  glad,  and   rejoice 


124  OF  evil    spirits: 

in  the  prospect,  and  comfort  one  another  with  these 
words. 

This,  however,  is  not  a  final  casting  out  of  our  rest- 
less enemy :  sufficient  evil  will  yet  lurk  in  some  parts 
of  the  renewed  earth  for  him  to  practise  his  old  craft 
upon ;  and  he  will  have  liberty  so  to  do.  "When  the 
thousand  years  are  expired,  Satan  shall  be  loosed  out 
of  his  prison,  and  shall  go  out  to  deceive  the  nations 
which  are  in  the  four  quarters  of  the  earth,  Gog  and 
Magog,  to  gather  them  together  to  battle."  Rev.  xx. 
7,  8.  Who  these  nations  are,  or  under  what  circum- 
stances they  will  at  that  period  be  placed,  we  cannot 
possibly  say.  It  is  idle,  and  worse  than  idle,  for  men 
to  guess,  to  predicate,  to  dogmatize,  on  matters  where 
the  most  learned  has  no  other  data  to  guide  him,  than 
is  vouchsafed  to  any  babe  in  a  Sunday  school.  We 
know  that  the  Lord  hath  spoken  it ;  therefore  we  know 
that  it  shall  come  to  pass.  Satan's  prison  door  shall 
be  opened,  his  chain  removed,  and  immediately  he  will 
return  to  his  ancient  work  of  deceiving  men.  It  is  ap- 
palling to  observe  with  what  fierce  earnestness  he  is 
bent  on  this  detestable  employment.  His  hatred  of 
man  is  ever  breaking  out ;  and  what  must  they  expect 
to  endure,  who,  through  their  rejection  of  Christ's 
Gospel,  doom  themselves  to  be  his  companions  and 
slaves  for  ever !  Hell,  as  a  place  of  flames  and  tor- 
ments, "  where  the  worm  dieth  not,  and  the  fire  is 
not  quenched,"  is  invested  with  mystery  that  shrouds 
its  terrors,  and  leads  bold  unbelievers  to  scoff  at  what 
they  cannot  comprehend ;  but  hell,  as  manifested  in 
the  character  and  actings  of  Satan,  is  a  comprehensi- 


THE   DOOM    OF   SATAN   AND   HIS   ANGELS.         125 

ble  and  a  fearful  reality !  To  be  condemned,  even  for 
a  short  time,  to  the  exclusive  society,  and  subjected  to 
the  despotic  will  of  a  person  who  utterly  hates  us,  and 
by  all  means  seeks  our  hurt,  is  an  infliction  that  few 
would  like  to  brave  :  but  this  is  a  helpless  bondage  for- 
ever  and  ever,  to  and  with  one  who,  as  a  powerful  an- 
gel, must  always  be  stronger  than  we;  and  whose  tor- 
ments, while  we  partook  of  them,  would  perpetually 
incite  him  to  ten-fold  ferocity  against  us,  as  a  means 
of  their  great  aggravation. 

Satan  will  succeed  in  his  last  expedition,  so  far  as 
the  deceiving,  and  consequent  destroying  of  these  na- 
tions is  concerned ;  whose  number,  we  are  told,  is  as 
the  sands  of  the  sea.  "  And  they  went  up  on  the 
breadth  of  the  earth,  and  compassed  the  camp  of  the 
saints  about,  and  the  beloved  city  ;  and  fire  came  down 
from  God,  out  of  heaven,  and  devoured  them.  And  the 
devil  that  deceived  them  was  cast  into  the  lake  of  fire 
and  brimstone,  where  the  beast  and  the  false  prophet 
are,  and  shall  be  tormented  day  and  night,  forever  and 
ever."  Rev.  xx.  9,  10. 

Beyond  this  the  word  of  God  does  not  lead  us :  the 
secrets  of  that  burning  pit  are  not  revealed  to  man. 
The  terribleness  of  divine  wrath,  in  its  unmitigated  in- 
flictions, no  heart  can  conceive,  neither  may  tongue 
essay  to  describe  it.  Some  have  spoken  of  the  state  of 
the  lost,  as  though  it  was  one  where  rage  and  blas- 
phemy continually  poured  forth  their  despairing  defi- 
ance of  the  Most  High.  It  may  be  so,  as  regards  the 
evil  spirits,  but  Scripture  leads  to  no  such  supposition 
respecting  the  ruined  souls  of  men.  Anguish  most 
11* 


126  OF   EVIL    SPIRITS  ! 

bitter,  weeping,  and  wailing,  and  gnashing  of  teeth : 
a  full  appreciation  of  what  has  been  rejected,  and  an 
agonizing  consciousness  of  what  is  incurred — the  total 
absence  of  hope,  the  blackness  of  darkness,  to  be  known 
and  felt  forever  and  ever — these  are  a  part  of  what  we 
are  told  will  be  the  portion  of  those  who  believe  not : 
the  doom  of  such  as  will  not  obey.  Let  this  awful 
glimpse  of  unspeakable  and  everlasting  wo  suffice  ;  and 
may  the  blood  of  Him  who,  through  the  Eternal  Spirit, 
offered  Himself  without  spot  for  sins,  be  so  applied  to 
the  soul  of  her  who  writes,  and  of  every  individual  who 
reads  these  pages,  that  they  may  never  know,  by  ex- 
perience, the  terrific  reality  of  what,  by  faith,  they  are 
assured,  is  reserved  for  the  enemies  of  the  Gospel  of 
Christ. 


II.— OF  THE  HOLY  ANGELS. 


I. 

THEIR  EXISTENCE  AND  CHARACTER. 

In  the  great  conflicts  that  man  has  to  wage  with  the 
terrible  enemy  to  whom  he  has  sold  himself,  and  who 
labours  to  keep,  or  to  regain  possession  of  every  indi- 
vidual soul,  so  long  as  it  inhabits  the  body,  man  has 
but  one  effectual  help.  Unaided  and  alone,  God,  mani- 
fest in  the  flesh,  fought  the  battle  of  redemption :  he 
alone  paid  the  ransom,  and  from  him  alone  is  all 
strength,  all  succour  to  be  derived.  There  is  not  in 
heaven  above,  or  in  the  earth  beneath,  any  created 
thing,  capable  of  supplying  a  fraction  towards  the 
mighty  price  of  man's  deliverance,  nor  of  contributing 
an  iota  of  the  power  by  which  alone  he  can  success- 
fully fight  the  good  fight  of  faith,  and  lay  hold  on 
eternal  life.  It  is  highly  important  to  bear  this  in 
mind,  because  of  the  fearful  abuses  by  which  the  ad- 
versary has  prevailed  to  pervert  the  delightful  truths 
that  we  are  now  about  to  investigate.  The  Papal 
apostasy,  one  of  whose  characteristics  it  is  to  "  blas- 
pheme them  that  dwell  in  heaven,"  (Rev.  xiii.  6,)  has 
established  a  system  of  angel- worship,  interwoven  with 


130  OF  THE    HOLY   ANGELS  : 

every  part  of  its  unholy  fabric,  and  carried  to  such  an 
excess  that  it  has  prevailed  to  drive  the  Church  of 
Christ  into  an  opposite  extreme ;  teaching  them  to 
shrink  from,  or  to  overlook  the  encouraging  truths  that 
tend  to  the  glory  of  God ;  and  which  are  therefore 
changed  into  a  lie  by  Satan,  that  in  our  anxiety  to 
shun  that  lie,  we  may  lose  the  consolations  provided 
for  us. 

Of  what  subsisted  previously  to  the  creation  of  this 
globe,  we  have  but  very  dim  intimations  ;  yet  we  know 
that  angelic  hosts  looked  on  and  rejoiced  in  the  beau- 
teous work.  This  is  conveyed  in  magnificent  language 
in  the  book  of  Job,  where  the  Lord  enters  into  contro- 
versy with  the  doubting  and  complaining,  but  self-jus- 
tifying sufferer.  "  Where  wast  thou  when  I  laid  the 
foundations  of  the  earth  ?  declare  if  thou  hast  under- 
standing. Who  hath  laid  the  measures  thereof,  if  thou 
knowest  ?  or  who  hath  stretched  the  line  upon  it  ? 
Whereupon  are  the  foundations  thereof  fastened  ?  or 
who  laid  the  corner  stone  thereof;  when  the  morning 
stars  sang  together,  and  all  the  sons  of  God  shouted  for 
joy  ?"  Job  xxxviii.  4 — 7.  It  is  certain  from  this  pas- 
sage, that  beings,  bright  and  holy,  existed,  with  facul- 
ties to  comprehend,  and  minds  to  rejoice  in  the  mani- 
festation of  God's  power  and  goodness  in  creating  this 
globe  on  which  we  dwell.  They  are  called  "  the  an- 
gels of  God,"  Gen.  xxviii.  12,  "Holy  angels,"  Matt, 
xxv.  31. 

Michael  seems,  indeed,  to  be  among  the  holy  angels, 
what  Satan  is  among  the  fallen  spirits,  a  leader  invest- 
ed with  great  power ;  and  we  find  them  personally 


THEIR   EXISTENCE    AND  CHARACTER.  131 

opposed  on  two  occasions, — the  first  of  which  seems 
conclusive  as  to  his  being,  however  high  and  glorious, 
still  a  creature,  humble  and  obedient :  "  Michael  the 
archangel,  when  contending  with  the  devil,  he  disputed 
about  the  body  of  Moses,  durst  not  bring  against  him 
a  railing  accusation,  but  said,  the  Lord  rebuke  thee." 
Jude  9.  Peter  applies  the  same  argument,  and  seem- 
ingly alludes  to  the  same  event,  when  treating,  as  Jude 
does,  of  the  presumptuous  evil-speaking  of  ungodly 
men.  "  They  are  not  afraid  to  speak  evil  of  dignities  : 
whereas  angels,  which  are  greater  in  power  and  might, 
bring  not  railing  accusation  against  them  before  the 
Lord."  2  Peter  ii.  11.  Here  the  same  expressions  are 
applied  to  Michael,  and  to  angels  generally.  He  is, 
however,  of  exalted  rank,  as  the  angel  who  talked 
with  Daniel  plainly  declared,  when  alluding  to  the 
mysterious  contest  in  which  he  had  been  engaged,  to- 
gether with  other  spiritual  beings,  and  which  has 
already  been  quoted.  Michael  is  there  designated 
"  One  of  the  chief  princes ;"  and  the  angel  addressing 
Daniel  as  a  seer,  calls  him  '•'  Michael  your  prince." 
Dan.  x.  13 — 21.  Finally,  when  describing  the  consum- 
mation of  all  things,  the  angel  says,  "  At  that  time 
shall  Michael  stand  up,  the  great  prince  which  stand- 
eth  for  the  children  of  thy  people."  Dan.  xii.  1.  From 
all  this  we  gather  that  Michael  is  one  among  several 
angelic  beings,  whom  the  Lord  has  seen  fit  to  elevate 
above  their  fellows,  and  that  as  regards  the  concerns 
of  our  planet,  he  is  probably  the  chief.  The  word 
archangel  occurs  but  once  morp  in  the  Bible,  and  there 
we  are  told,  "  The  Lord  himself  shall  descend  from 


132  OF   THE   HOLY   ANGELS  : 

heaven  with  a  shout,  with  the  voice  of  the  archangel, 
and  with  the  trump  of  God."  1  Thess.  iv.  16.  But 
Michael  is  named  again,  as  we  have  before  seen,  as 
heading  the  great  battle  against  Satan,  when  "  there 
was  war  in  heaven,  Michael  and  his  angels  fought 
against  the  dragon ;  and  the  dragon  fought,  and  his 
angels."  Rev.  xii.  7. 

The  most  natural  inference  to  be  drawn  from  what 
the  Lord  has  seen  good  to  intimate  to  us,  is  that  some 
special  post  is  assigned  to  each  one  of  the  heavenly 
spirits  ;  and  collectively  we  know  what  their  office  is. 
"Are  they  not  all  ministering  spirits,  sent  forth  to 
minister  for  them  who  shall  be  heirs  of  salvation  ?" 
Heb.  i.  14.  One  may,  indeed,  oversee  the  affairs  of 
the  kingdom,  while  another  watches  the  slumbering 
baby  in  a  cottage  cradle,  but  be  the  office  what  it 
may,  it  is  rendered  arduous  by  the  incessant  opposition 
of  the  Satanic  hosts,  who  are  forever  crossing  the  path 
and  thwarting  the  work  of  those  ministering  spirits,  to 
say  nothing  of  the  perverseness  of  those  who,  though 
by  the  free  mercy  of  God  they  are  "  heirs  of  salva- 
tion," still  inhabit  a  body  of  death,  tainted  by  corrup- 
tion, opposed  to  holiness,  and  presenting,  no  doubt,  a 
painful  and  a  perplexing  spectacle  in  the  eyes  of  their 
unseen  friends,  whose  holy  natures,  full  of  love,  zeal, 
thankfulness,  and  perfect  obedience,  must  often  shrink 
from  the  perverse  iniquity  of  even  the  redeemed  peo- 
ple of  God. 

Yet  we  know  that  these  loving  ministers  take  delight 
in  our  prosperity  :  their  zeal  for  the  glory  of  God  must 
necessarily  cause  them  to  rejoice  in  the  subversion  of 


THEIR   EXISTENCE    AND   CHARACTER.  133 

Satan's  empire  among  men ;  and  the  knowledge  that 
they  possess  of  his  object,  the  continual  sight  of  his 
atrocious  devices  to  promote  that  cruel  object,  and 
above  all,  the  daily,  hourly  spectacle  of  souls  passing 
from  this  stage  of  existence  into  a  hopeless  eternity, 
all  tend  to  keep  alive  in  their  minds  that  compassion- 
ate feeling  towards  us  which  makes  the  welfare  cf  eve- 
ry soul  a  matter  of  deep  interest  to  him.  Our  Lord 
assures  us  that  "  there  is  joy  in  the  presence  of  the 
angels  of  God,  over  one  sinner  that  repenteth  ;"  (Luke 
xv.  10  ;)  and  there  is  no  mistaking  the  affectionate 
tone  of  the  angelic  messenger  who,  with  the  glory  of 
the  Lord  encircling  him,  greeted  the  shepherds,  "  Fear 
not:  for  behold  I  bring  you  good  tidings  of  great  joy, 
which  shall  be  to  all  people;"  (Luke  ii.  10;)  nor 
that  of  the  various  angels  who  announced  the  Lord's 
resurrection  to  the  women  ;  "  Fear  not  ye  ;  for  I  know- 
that  ye  seek  Jesus  which  was  crucified.  He  is  not 
here,  for  he  is  risen,  as  he  said.  Come,  see  the  place 
where  the  Lord  lay.  And  go  quickly,  and  tell  his 
disciples  that  he  is  risen  from  the  dead  ;  and  behold 
he  goeth  before  you  into  Galilee ;  there  shall  ye  see 
him  :  lo,  I  have  told  you."  Matt,  xxviii.  5 — 7.  This 
is  an  exquisite  picture  of  angelic  power,  glory,  and 
tenderness  combined.  The  angel  who  spoke  was 
seated  on  the  stone  that  he  had  rolled  from  the  sepul- 
chre's mouth:  such  was  the  dazzling  splendour  of  his 
countenance,  that  it  shone  like  lightning;  and  the 
armed  soldiers  of  Rome  "  did  shake  and  became  as 
dead  men."  Yet  how  kindly,  with  what  condescend- 
ing indulgence,  and  mild  assurance  he  encourages  the 
12 


134  OF   THE   HOLY    ANGELS  : 

poor  terrified  women,  dilating  upon  the  particulars 
that  were  best  calculated  to  inspire  them  with  confi- 
dence and  joy !  We  may  return  hereafter  to  the 
subject ;  but  at  present  it  must  not  be  overlooked  as 
exhibiting  in  a  most  touching  light,  the  angelic  cha- 
racter. 

The  first  notice  we  have  in  Scripture  of  the  minis- 
try of  angels  is  an  awful  one.  God  "  placed  at  the 
east  of  the  garden  of  Eden,  cherubim,  and  a  flaming 
sword,  which  turned  every  way,  to  keep  the  way  of 
the  tree  of  life."  Gen.  iii.  24.  No  doubt  they  who 
had  sung  together  and  shouted  for  joy  when  earth 
arose  beneath  the  hand  of  her  divine  framer,  and  the 
whole  glorious  fabric  was  completed  and  pronounced 
very  good,  were  frequent  visiters  to  man,  encouraging 
and  sharing  with  him  the  language  of  praise  to  their 
King ;  and  very  terrible  indeed  to  them  must  have 
been  the  spectacle  of  these  favoured,  beloved  creatures, 
recently  formed  out  of  the  dust,  and  exalted  to  such 
majesty,  and  endowed  with  such  felicity,  drawn  aside 
by  a  device  of  the  devil  to  revolt,  and  to  bring  a  curse 
upon  what  God  had  blessed ;  and  their  service  in 
guarding  the  gate  from  the  expelled  offenders  was  a 
willing  one  ;  for  how  could  the  Lord  be  insulted  and 
they  not  moved  to  most  indignant  sorrow  ?  But  al- 
though we  find  them  prompt  to  execute  the  terrible  de- 
nunciations of  his  displeasure,  his  mercy  to  man  ex- 
cites their  chief  joy.  We  shall  find  many  proofs  of 
this  as  we  go  on ;  and  while  repudiating  with  horror 
the  least  approach  to  rendering  them  a  particle  of  the 
honour  due  to  God  alone,  we  must  be  cold  indeed  not 


THEIR   EXISTENCE   AND   CHARACTER.  135 

to  rtel  a  glow  of  thankful  affection  towards  the  high 
and  sinless  beings  who  sympathise  with  us  in  this  our 
low  estate  of  guilt  and  sorrow,  who  encamp  around 
us  to  watch  the  movements  of  our  deadly  foes,  and 
who  long  to  welcome  us  into  the  heavenly  mansions 
of  safety  and  peace  prepared  for  us  by  their  Lord  anh 
ours. 


II. 

ANGELIC  KNOWLEDGE  AND  POWER. 

Omniscience  belongs  to  God  alone :  He  only  is  the 
Hearer  of  prayer,  the  Searcher  of  hearts,  the  sove- 
reign Ruler  of  the  affairs  of  man.  To  suppose  that 
any  created  being  may  appropriate  even  the  minutest 
portion  of  these  high  prerogatives  of  Jehovah,  is  noth- 
ing short  of  heresy,  verging  on  blasphemy.  Its  dan- 
gerous tendency  is  plainly  shown  by  the  apostle,  who 
says  that  the  worshiping  of  angels  beguiles  the  Chris- 
tian of  his  reward.  Col.  ii.  15.  Therefore  we  have 
need  to  be  very  sober  and  circumspect,  lest  in  treat- 
ing of  this  most  interesting  subject,  we  be  led,  through 
inadvertence,  into  ascribing  to  the  holy  angels,  any 
properties  on  which  the  ignorant  and  profane  might 
ground  an  excuse  for  rendering  to  them  divine  hon- 
ours. God  has  not  seen  fit  to  reveal  to  us  to  what 
extent  the  spiritual  creatures,  good  and  evil,  who  con- 
stantly surround  us,  can  penetrate  our  thoughts. 
They,  of  course,  can  form  a  very  accurate  conclusion 


ANGELIC    KNOWLEDGE    AND    POWER.  137 

from  what  they  see  and  hear,  combined  with  their  ac- 
quaintance with  the  past  events  of  our  lives  ;  but  be- 
yond this  we  have  no  warrant  for  supposing  that  they 
know  more  than  the  Lord,  for  special  purposes,  is 
pleased  to  reveal  to  them. 

One  knowledge  the  angels  do  certainly  possess,  and 
that  the  very  chiefest  of  all  knowledge — they  know 
God  :  and  as  the  depths  of  the  riches  of  His  knowledge 
and  wisdom  are  unfathomable,  they  evermore  seek 
fresh  acquisitions  in  that  divine  science.  The  apostle 
Peter,  speaking  of  the  mysteries  of  redemption,  "  the 
sufferings  of  Christ,  and  the  glory  that  should  follow" 
the  preaching  of  the  Gospel,  "  with  the  Holy  Ghost 
sent  down  from  heaven,"  adds,  "  which  things  the  an- 
gels desire  to  look  into."  1  Peter  i.  11,  12.  And 
that  they  do  look  with  adoring  joy  upon  the  mighty 
work,  is  manifest  from  their  joining  in  the  heavenly 
song,  "  Worthy  is  the  Lamb  that  was  slain,  to  receive 
power,  and  riches,  and  wisdom,  and  strength,  and 
honour,  and  glory,  and  blessing."  Rev.  v.  12.  How 
far  they  may  be  employed  in  overseeing  the  minute 
circumstances  by  which  a  sinner  is  often  brought  to 
the  hearing  of  the  Gospel,  by  entering  some  particular 
place  of  worship,  taking  up  some  particular  book,  or  oth- 
er similar  occurrences,  we  do  not  know  :  but  this  we  do 
know,  that  there  is  joy  in  the  presence  of  the  angels 
of  God,  over  one  such  repenting  sinner.  The  expres- 
sion, "  ministering  spirits,  sent  forth  to  minister  to  them 
that  shall  be  heirs  of  salvation,"  would  lead  us  to  sup- 
pose that  the  children  of  God  even  previous  to  their 
effectual  calling,  are  placed  under  the  care  of  these 
12* 


138  OF   THE    HOLY   ANGELS: 

bright  and  loving  creatures,  whose  holy  nature  must 
often  be  deeply  grieved  at  the  iniquity  of  man  ;  know- 
ing,  as  they  do,  the  unspeakable  immensity  of  the 
stake  which  he  so  daringly  trifles  with,  and  the  infi- 
nite love  of  God,  against  which  he  so  basely  and  inso- 
lently sins. 

There  is  a  knowledge  too,  which,  no  doubt,  is  re- 
vealed to  the  angels — that  of  the  Lord's  peculiar  fa- 
vour to  certain  individuals.  Gabriel  expresses  this  to 
Daniel,  when  about  to  communicate  to  him  what  the 
Lord  had  informed  him  of.  "  O  Daniel,  I  am  now 
come  forth  to  give  thee  skill  and  understanding.  At 
the  beginning  of  thy  supplications  the  commandments 
came  forth,  and  I  am  come  to  show  thee ;  for  thou  art 
greatly  beloved."  Dan.  ix.  22,  23.  And  again,  on 
another  occasion,  "  O  Daniel,  a  man  greatly  beloved  " 
— Dan.  x.  11;  and  uO  man,  greatly  beloved,  fear 
not!"  v.  19.  In  addition  to  this,  they  are  unques- 
tionably endowed  with  very  high  degrees  of  discern- 
ing and  discriminating  knowledge.  In  that  beautiful 
passage,  where  the  woman  of  Tekoah  with  such  sin- 
gular eloquence  and  effect,  pleads  with  David,  covert- 
ly purposing  to  soften  him  towards  his  banished  son, 
these  expressions  occur : — "  The  word  of  my  lord  the 
king  shall  now  be  comfortable  :  for  as  an  angel  of 
God,  so  is  my  lord  the  king  to  discern  good  and  bad;" 
and  again,  "  My  lord  is  wise,  according  to  the  wisdom 
of  an  angel  of  God,  to  know  all  things  that  are  in  the 
earth."  2  Sam.  xiv.  17 — 20.  This  wise  woman  of 
Tekoah,  whose  wisdom  appears  to  have  been  of  a 
worldly  description,  and  who  was  prompted  by  Joab, 


ANGELIC    KNOWLEDGE    AND   POWER.  139 

certainly  flattered  the  king ;  but  there  is  no  reason  to 
suppose  she  flattered  the  angels,  concerning  whom  we 
are  led,  on  much  better  authority,  to  form  a  very  high 
estimate.  How  exquisitely  beautiful  are  her  words,  in 
relation  to  the  Lord's  reconciling  mercies !  "  Where- 
fore hast  thou  thought  such  a  thing  against  the  people 
of  God"?  for  the  king  doth  speak  this  thing  as  one 
which  is  faulty,  in  that  the  king  doth  not  fetch  home 
again  his  banished.  For  we  must  needs  die,  and  are 
as  water  spilt  on  the  ground,  which  cannot  be  gathered 
up' again:  neither  doth  God  respect  any  .person,  yet 
doth  he  devise  means,  that  his  banished  be  not  expelled 
from  him ;"  verses  13,  14.  The  justness  of  this  sub- 
lime picture  of  man's  helplessness  and  God's  rescuing 
power,  gives  weight  to  what  this  singular  woman  also 
said  of  angelic  wisdom  and  knowledge.  Paul,  too,  re- 
fers to  them,  when  he  says,  "  Though  we,  or  an  angel 
from  heaven,  preach  any  other  gospel  unto  you  than 
that  which  we  have  preached  unto  you,  let  him  be 
accursed."  Gal.  i.  8:  and  again:  "Though  I  speak 
with  the  tongues  of  men  and  of  angels,  and  have  not 
charity,  I  am  become  as  sounding  brass,  and  as  a  tink- 
ling cymbal."  1  Cor.  xiii.  1. 

But  whatever  difficulty  we  may  find  in  ascertaining 
the  extent  of  angelic  knowledge,  of  the  power  of  the 
angels  we  are  taught  to  form  most  stupendous  concep- 
tions ;  or  rather  it  is  a  power  the  greatness  of  which  we 
cannot  conceive.  The  terrible  slaughter  of  the  first- 
born in  Egypt,  was  the  work  of  one  angel,  and  ac- 
complished within  so  short  a  space  of  time,  that  the  cry 
rose  simultaneously  throughout  the  land.    Another  dis- 


140  OF   THE    HOLY   ANGELS. 

play  of  this  awful  power  took  place,  when  the  army 
of  Sennacherib  laid  siege  to  Jerusalem.  "  Then  the 
angel  of  the  Lord  went  forth,  and  smote  in  the  camp 
of  the  Assyrians,  an  hundred  and  fourscore  and  five 
thousand  :  and  when  they  arose  early  in  the  morning, 
behold  they  were  all  dead  corpses."  Isaiah  xxxvii.  36. 
A  hundred  and  eighty-five  thousand  warriors  slain  with 
a  stroke,  as  they  lay  stretched  securely  slumbering  in 
their  tents,  was  a  mighty  achievement;  and  in  like 
manner  the  visitation  provoked  by  David's  sin  in  num- 
bering the  people,  though  it  is  called  a  pestilence,  was 
effected  by  an  angelic  hand.  "  The  Lord  sent  pesti- 
lence upon  Israel,  and  there  fell  of  Israel  seventy 
thousand  men.  And  God  sent  an  angel  unto  Jerusa- 
lem to  destroy  it;  and  as  he  was  destroying  it,  the 
Lord  beheld,  and  he  repented  him  of  the  evil,  and  said 
to  the  angel  that  destroyed,  It  is  enough  ;  stay  now 
thine  hand.  And  the  angel  of  the  Lord  stood  by  the 
threshing-floor  of  Oman  the  Jebusite.  And  David  lift- 
ed up  his  eyes,  and  saw  the  angel  of  the  Lord  stand 
between  the  earth  and  the  heaven,  having  a  drawn 
sword  in  his  hand  stretched  out  over  Jerusalem  :  then 
David  and  the  elders  of  Israel  who  were  clothed  in 
sackcloth,  fell  upon  their  faces.  And  David  said  unto 
God,  Is  it  not  I  that  commanded  the  people  to  be  num- 
bered ?  even  I  it  is  that  have  sinned,  and  done  evil  in- 
deed ;  but  as  for  these  sheep,  what  have  they  done  ?  let 
thine  hand,  I  pray  thee,  O  Lord  my  God,  be  on  me, 
and  on  my  father's  house  ;  but  not  on  thy  people  that 
they  should  be  plagued.  The  angel  of  the  Lord  com- 
manded Gad  to  say  to  David,  that  David  should  go  up, 


ANGELIC    KNOWLEDGE   AND   POWER.  141 

and  set  up  an  altar  unto  the  Lord,  in  the  threshing- 
floor  of  Oman  the  Jebusite.  And  David  went  up  at  the 
saying  of  Gad,  which  he  spake  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord.  And  Oman  turned  back  and  saw  the  angel ; 
and  his  four  sons  with  him  hid  themselves.  .  .  .  And 
David  built  there  an  altar  unto  the  Lord,  and  offered 
burnt-offerings  and  peace-offerings,  and  called  upon 
the  Lord ;  and  he  answered  him  from  heaven  by  fire 
upon  the  altar  of  burnt-offering.  And  the  Lord  com- 
manded the  angel,  and  he  put  up  his  sword  again  into 
the  sheath  thereof.  At  that  time  when  David  saw  that 
the  Lord  had  answered  him  in  the  threshing-floor  of 

Oman  the  Jebusite,  then  he  sacrificed  there 

But  David  could  not  go  before  it  to  inquire  of  God  ; 
for  he  was  afraid,  because  of  the  sword  of  the  angel 
of  the  Lord."  1  Chron.  xxi.  14—30.  What  a  splendid 
vision  is  here  revealed  to  us  !  A  creature  of  surpass- 
ing strength,  glorious  brightness,  and  probably  of  grea^ 
magnitude,  standing  in  mid-air,  with  a  glittering  weap- 
on, the  stroke  of  which  was  instantly  mortal,  stretched 
over  the  holy  city,  which  lay  in  beautiful  repose  be- 
neath an  evening  sky.  In  the  act  of  smiting,  the  an- 
gel's hand  was  arrested,  and  he  stood  in  suspense,  the 
weapon  still  flashing  in  his  grasp,  to  know  what  farther 
he  should  do :  David  had  offended  the  Lord  too  deeply 
by  listening  to  the  suggestion  of  Satan,  to  be  honoured 
with  any  direct  communication  ;  neither  was  the  angel 
permitted  to  address  him,  but  through  Gad  the  seer, 
who  had  announced  the  coming  judgment  on  the  land. 
The  angel  directed  a  sacrifice,  and  continued  fully  vis- 
ible in  that  menacing  position,  so  that  the  sons  of  Oman 


142  OF   THE    HOLY    ANGELS  I 

hid  themselves  from  his  terrible  appearance.  It  was 
not  until  the  smoke  of  the  burnt-offering  had  ascended 
before  the  Lord,  at  once  rendered  and  pronounced  ac- 
ceptable by  the  kindling  of  heavenly  fire,  that  the 
dreaded  sword  Was  sheathed.  Yet  even  so,  its  ter- 
rors remained  so  powerfully  impressed  on  the  mind  of 
the  king,  that  he  dare  not  approach  his  temporary  al- 
tar, from  fear  of  the  glorious  being  who  still  watched 
his  proceedings.  This  is  one  of  the  glimpses  afforded 
us  of  what  is  perpetually  passing  around,  but  which 
our  eyes  are  holden  from  seeing.  We  talk  of  casual- 
ties, of  epidemics,  of  contagious  disorders ;  but  we  see 
not  the  hand  that  with  unerring  fidelity  deals  forth  each 
mysterious  dispensation,  according  to  the  Lord's  ap- 
pointment. The  same  presumptuous  folly  that  has 
clothed  evil  spirits  with  fantastically  frightful  grimace, 
has  invested  the  holy  angels  with  a  puerile  silliness  of 
appearance,  wholly  at  variance  with  every  scriptural 
representation.  Baby  faces  between  a  pair  of  bird's 
wings,  destitute  of  bodies  ;  slim  girls  with  long,  flowing 
ringlets,  and  pinions  well  feathered — these  are  the 
imaginary  likenesses  of  things  in  heaven,  which  we  are 
warned  not  to  represent  to  ourselves ;  and  the  terrible- 
ness  with  which  the  Lord,  for  his  own  glory,  has  in- 
vested these  ministers  of  his,  is  wholly  lost  sight  of. 

The  angel  who  met  Balaam  in  the  way,  was  of  a 
formidable  aspect.  The  poor  beast,  who  showed  a  bet- 
ter feeling  than  the  mercenary  wicked  prophet,  saw 
him  and  turned  aside  each  time,  until  the  narrowness 
of  the  way  preventing  this,  she  fell  down,  and  was  cru- 
elly chastised  for  it  by  her  senseless  rider,  whom  she 


ANGELIC    KNOWLEDGE   AND   POWER.  143 

was  enabled  miraculously  to  reprove.  "Then  the 
Lord  opened  the  eyes  of  Balaam,  and  he  saw  the  an- 
gel of  the  Lord  standing  in  the  way,  and  his  sword 
drawn  in  his  hand."  Numb.  xxii.  31.  The  angel's 
address  was  very  severe,  and  his  look  so  alarming 
that  all  Balaam's  thirst  for  gold  could  not  tempt  him 
to  advance,  until  he  received  distinct  permission  to  do 
so.  We  may  be  assured  that  the  spectacle  of  a  hypo- 
crite like  Balaam,  making  use  of  the  Lord's  name  to 
forward  his  own  selfish,  unprincipled  ends,  and  ready 
for  filthy  lucre's  sake  to  call  down  a  curse  on  God's 
people,  or  more  effectually  to  destroy,  by  alluring  them 
into  sin,  could  not  but  be  unsupportably  odious  to  a 
holy  angel,  ever  zealous  to  vindicate  the  honour  of  his 
glorious  King ;  and  to  such  a  man,  the  face  of  a  "  min- 
istering spirit "  would  be  fearful  indeed,  if,  like  Ba- 
laam's, his  eyes  were  opened  to  meet  the  indignant 
gaze  of  God's  true  servant. 

Angelic  power  was  put  forth  to  shut  the  mouths  of 
the  hungry  lions,  among  whom  Daniel  was  cast  to  be 
devoured.  The  prophet  tells  us  so.  "  My  God  hath 
sent  his  angel,  and  hath  shut  the  lion's  mouths,  that 
they  have  not  hurt  me."  Dan.  vi.  22.  Daniel  was 
indeed  most  peculiarly  favoured  by  the  ministry  of  an- 
gels, and  by  the  intimate  footing  in  which  Gabriel  ap- 
peared to  place  him ;  while  the  prophet's  deportment 
toward  his  celestial  interpreter  was  beautifully  humble 
and  respectful ;  and  in  his  communications,  which  have 
more  of  a  colloquial  and  confidential  tone  than  any  re- 
corded in  the  Old  Testament,  the  angel  certainly  shows 
himself  to  be  a  powerful  warrior  and  champion,  contin- 


144  OF   THE   HOLY    ANGELS: 

ually  engaged  in  battle.  "  The  prince  of  the  kingdom 
of  Persia  withstood  me  one  and  twenty  days :  and  now 
will  I  return  to  fight  with  the  prince  of  Persia."  It  is 
for  man  they  fight ;  for  rebel  man,  who  is  himself  too 
generally  fighting  against  God,  or  at  least  neglecting, 
with  wanton  disregard,  those  interests  over  which  the 
angels  of  the  Lord  tenderly  watch.  Against  us  are 
arrayed  principalities  and  powers,  the  rulers  of  the 
darkness  of  this  world,  and  wicked  spirits  in  high 
places  :  but  in  the  unequal  contest  we  have  great  and 
potent  allies,  whom  the  Lord  Jesus  has  commissioned 
to  serve  us  according  to  our  need,  in  warding  off,  no 
doubt,  many  bodily  dangers  not  less  imminent  than  the 
jaws  of  the  hungry  lions  were  to  Daniel,  though  often 
unseen  and  unsuspected  by  us. 

A  simple  student  of  Scripture,  unacquainted  with 
the  received  notions  of  poets,  painters  and  sculptors, 
who  should  undertake  to  portray  an  angel  of  God? 
would  probably  represent  him  under  a  very  different 
aspect  from  any  that  we  are  accustomed  to  connect 
with  the  idea  ;  because  we,  the  bond-slaves  of  custom 
ever  ready  to  be  misled  by  vain  traditions  received  from 
our  fathers,  and  incapable  of  independent  thought,  or 
rather  indisposed  to  it,  adopt  the  prevailing  error  that 
saves  us  the  trouble  of  reflecting,  and  content  ourselves 
with  grotesque  devils,  and  namby-pamby  angels. 
Surely  both  are,  to  mortal  gaze,  most  terrible !  There 
are  men  upon  earth,  whose  withering  scowl  of  malig- 
nant ferocity,  treachery,  and  reckless  desolation  of 
heart,  may  convey  to  the  shrinking  observer  a  faint 
idea  of  what  must  emanate  from  the  countenance  of  an 


ANGELIC    KNOWLEDGE   AND  POWER.  145 

evil  spirit,  "seeking  rest  and  finding  none,"  "  golnz;  to 
and  fro  in  the  earth,  and  walking  up  and  down  in  it." 
for  the  sole  purpose  of  venting  his  cruelty  on  mankind  : 
but  where  shall  we  look  for  the  likeness  of  an  angel  '. 
Bountiful  they  must  be,  because  all  God's  unblemish- 
ed works  are  so ;  and  calm  they  must  be,  for  holiness 
and  happiness  are  always  calm  :  but  this  earth,  defiled 
by  sin,  and  broken  into  helplessness,  contains  nothing 
to  furnish  us  with  a  conception  of  the  character  that 
spotless  purity  and  over-mastering  power  must  impart 
to  those  who  possess  both.  The  expression  of  a  ver\ 
young  and  lovely  infant's  countenance  is  the  nearest. 
approach  that  earth  can  make  to  heaven :  but,  alas, 
the  taint  is  there,  though  as  yet  comparatively  unde- 
veloped; and  who  could  picture  the  feeble  lump  of 
clay  arrayed  in  the  terrors  of  a  warrior  of  heaven  ? 

Let  us  but  examine  of  what  class^f  his  works  the 
Lord  principally  speaks ;  when  answering  Job  out  ot 
the  whirlwind,  he  sets  before  him  a  small  part  of  the 
wonders  that,  even  in  this  visible  world,  fling  man  into 
such  a  fearful  distance  of  ignorance,  obscurity,  and 
contempt.  The  ocean  with  its  proud  waves,  and  secret 
springs,  its  garment  of  clouds,  and  swaddling  band  of 
thick  darkness;  the  horse,  with  his  neck  clothed  in 
thunder,  pawing  in  the  valley,  rejoicing  in  his  strength, 
mocking  at  fear,  and  swallowing  the  ground  with 
fierceness  and  rage.  Behemoth,  taking  in  a  river  with 
his  eyes,  and  trusting  that  he  can  draw  up  Jordan  into 
his  mouth ;  Leviathan,  making  the  deep  to  boil  like  a 
pot,  with  eyes  like  the  eye-lids  of  the  morning,  esteem- 
ing iron  as  straw,  and  brass  as  rotten  wood ;  these  are 
13 


146  OF   THE    HOLY   ANGELS : 

the  works  of  the  Almighty  on  which  he  chiefly  dwells, 
when  causing  the  patriarch  to  meditate  on  the  great- 
ness of  his  majesty  and  glory  :  and  we  cannot  doubt 
that  he  has  clothed  in  more  than  thunder  the  forms  of 
his  celestial  hosts,  engaged  as  they  constantly  are  in 
battle  with  myriads  of  mighty  opponents.  The  effect 
produced  on  Daniel  by  the  appearance  of  an  angel,  and 
on  the  sons  of  Oman  ;  on  Monoah  and  his  wife,  and 
on  the  apostle  John,  who  even  after  the  vision  of  the 
Lord  himself,  and  all  the  glories  of  heaven,  was  twice 
so  overcome  by  the  greatness  of  his  angelic  companion, 
that  he  fell  down  at  his  feet  to  worship  him,  all,  with 
many  other  instances,  tend  to  impress  us  with  the  be- 
lief that  an  angel,  however  beautiful,  is  still  exceed- 
ingly awful.  He  is  the  warrior's  subject  of  a  king, 
whose  sovereignty  is  resisted,  and  his  will  opposed  by 
the  wretches  w^m  he  formed  out  of  nothing  :  how  can 
the  servant's  aspect  be  that  of  repose,  so  long  as  his 
adored  Master  is  resisted,  grieved,  and  wronged  by  the 
insolent  rebels  of  earth  and  hell  ?  No  !  a  victory  has 
to  be  won,  before  the  holy  angels  sheath  their  flaming 
swords,  or  lose  the  terrors  of  their  stern  and  wrath- 
ful looks,  now  bent  on  every  side  to  track  the  mazes 
of  the  insidious  foe,  and  to  repel  him  from  the  invisible 
boundary  of  the  Lord's  inviolable  fold. 

In  speaking  of  angelic  power,  we  must  not  exclude 
the  property  of  actual,  physical  strength.  The  gene- 
ral opinion  as  to  a  celestial  being,  seems  to  exclude 
all  that  is  material:  but  it  is  impossible  to  reconcile 
this  with  the  facts  recorded  in  Scripture.  Shadowy 
beings  could  not  have  made  themselves  palpable  to  the 


ANGELIC    KNOWLEDGE    AND    POWER.  147 

touch  of  mortal  hands,  as  when  the  angels  forcibly 
drew  Lot  into  the  house,  or  when  they  led  him  and  his 
wife  and  daughters  from  the  city,  or  when  Peter  felt 
himself  smitten  on  the  side ;  or  in  other  instances,  to 
be  enlarged  on  as  we  proceed.  A  body  perfectly  tan- 
gible may  become  invisible,  as  our  Lord,  whose  body 
we  know  to  have  been  truly  a  human  body  in  even- 
respect,  repeatedly  proved  ;  and  that  our  insensibility 
to  the  presence  of  these  ministering  spirits,  is  the  effect 
of  blindness  on  our  part, — probably  the  consequences 
of  our  sin, — we  learn  from  the  prayer  of  Elisha,  who. 
desiring  to  pacify  the  young  man's  fears,  did  not  ask 
that  a  heavenly  guard  might  be  sent  to  assure  him,  but 
only  that  his  eyes  might  be  opened  to  see  what  was 
actually  present.  Our  Lord  says,  that  in  the  resur- 
rection his  people  shall  be  "  equal  unto  the  angels." 
Luke  xx.  36.  Now,  we  know,  to  a  certainty,  that  men 
will  rise  with  their  bodies :  that  this  mortal  shall  put 
on,  not  immateriality,  but  immortality — 1  Cor.  xv.  53  ; 
and  if  angels  are  incorporeal  spirits,  certainly  there 
must  be  either  an  inferiority  or  a  superiority  to  those 
with  whom  it  is  expressly  said  they  shall  be  equal. 
Bodies  like  those  which  we  now  inhabit,  in  substance, 
they  probably  have  not,  although  we  have  sufficient 
proof  that  all  which  we  call  the  laws  of  nature,  may 
be  suspended  or  reversed  at  the  divine  will,  without 
working  any  change  in  our  natural  frames :  as  in  the 
case  of  the  three  Jews,  who  walked  unharmed  in  the 
midst  of  the  fiery  furnace  of  Babylon — Dan.  iii.  27  ; 
and  the  prophet  Ezekiel,  who  was  lifted  up  and  borne 
through  the  air — Ezek.  iii.  14 ;  and  Jonah,  who  re- 


148  OF   THE   HOLY   ANGELS  ! 

mained  uninjured  for  three  days  and  nights  in  a  place 
when  in  much  less  time,  according  to  those  laws  of 
nature,  not  only  would  his  life  have  departed,  but  the 
framework  of  his  body  become  decomposed  and  utterly 
changed  into  corruption.  Jonah  i.  17.  The  scepticism 
of  the  human  mind  renders  us  willing  rather  to  explain 
away  the  most  unequivocal  language  into  shadowy 
figures,  than  to  submit  our  vain  reason  to  the  omnis- 
cience of  God  ;  our  shallow  philosophy  to  his  omnipo- 
tence; and  though  the  most  delicate  petal  of  a  tiny 
flower,  or  the  tinted  particle  that  our  rude  touch  brushes 
from  the  butterfly's  wing,  cannot  subsist  without  nutri- 
ment, conveyed  by  divinely- formed  mechanism  for  its 
support,  we  are  unwilling  to  think  that  when  the  Holy 
Ghost,  in  reference  to  the  manna,  says,  "  Man  did  eat 
angel's  food,"  (Psalm  lxxviii.  25,)  there  is  any  ground 
given  for  supposing  that  angels  are  actually  nourished 
by  substantial  aliment.  We  would  start  no  new  theory 
upon  this  subject ;  neither  will  we  receive  any,  how- 
soever firmly  established  on  human  authority,  that  will 
not  stand  the  test  of  Scripture.  We  believe  that  the 
unseen  world  is  of  a  much  more  tangible  quality  than 
is  commonly  supposed  ;  that  angelic  forms  are  not 
made  of  vapour,  neither  are  they,  when  rendered  visi- 
ble to  man,  optical  illusions.  We  know  that  "  all 
flesh  is  not  the  same  flesh  ;  but  there  is  one  kind  of 
flesh  of  men,  another  flesh  of  beasts,  and  another  of 
fishes,  and  another  of  birds :  there  are  also  celestial 
bodies,  and  bodies  terrestrial  ;  but  the  glory  of  the 
celestial  is  one,  and  the  glory  of  the  terrestrial  is  an- 
other." 1  Cor.  xv.  39,  40.     That  the  celestial  body  is 


ANGELIC    KNOWLEDGE   AND   POWER.  149 

nourished,  we  have  many  indications  in  Scripture. 
Our  blessed  Lord,  speaking  of  the  future  state,  says 
to  his  disciples,  "  I  appoint  onto  you  a  kingdom,  as  my 
Father  hath  appointed  unto  me ;  that  ye  may  eat  and 
drink  at  my  table  in  my  kingdom ;  and  sit  on  thrones, 
judging  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel."  Luke  xxii.  29, 
30.  When  we  consider  into  what  surpassing  fragrance 
and  beauty  the  coarsest  elements  of  earth  and  water 
are  transformed  by  their  mysterious  circulation  through 
the  delicate  frame- work  of  a  plant,  we  may  readily 
divest  our  minds  of  all  that  pertains  to  the  grosser  act 
of  eating  and  drinking,  and  the  common  properties  of 
such  nutriment  as  man  is  accustomed  to  take,  and  be- 
lieve that  in  heaven  as  on  earth,  the  brightest,  most 
perfect  of  the  Lord's  works  is  hourly  dependent  on  his 
sustaining  mercy,  formed  by  his  power,  upheld  by  his 
grace,  and  nourished  by  the  rich  provision  of  his  boun- 
tiful care. 


13* 


TIL 

ANGELIC  OBEDIENCE. 

There  is  not,  in  the  whole  Bible,  an  instance  where  an 
angel  appears  to  act  independently  of  the  divine  com- 
mand. Perfect  submission  is  the  unvaried  character 
of  the  heavenly  host.  Our  Lord  expresses  this,  in  the 
prayer  that  he  has  taught  us  to  use  :  "  Thy  will  be 
done  on  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven."  When  John  would 
have  worshiped  the  angel  who  showed  him  the  wonder- 
ful things  that  he  has  recorded  for  us,  he  was  prohibited 
in  these  words :  "  See  thou  do  it  not :  for  I  am  thy  fel- 
low-servant, and  of  thy  brethren  the  prophets,  and  of 
them  which  keep  the  sayings  of  this  book."  Rev. 
xxii.  9. 

We  cannot  doubt  that  the  Holy  Spirit  has  so  framed 
the  word  of  truth  as  to  be  a  perpetual  antidote  to  every 
form  of  error  that  should  creep  into  the  world  :  and  the 
"worshiping  of  angels,"  which  constitutes  a  prominent 
mark  of  the  Romish  apostasy,  is  provided  against  by 
continually  setting  forth  their  entire  dependence  and 
subordination.    They  never  appear  but  as  messengers: 


ANGELIC    OBEDIENCE.  151 

"  God  sent  an  angel  into  Jerusalem  to  destroy  it."  1 
Chron.  xxi.  15.  "  My  God  hath  sent  his  angel,  and 
hath  shut  the  lions'  mouths,  that  they  have  not  hurt 
me."  Dan.  vi.  22.  "  The  man  Gabriel  whom  I  had 
seen  in  the  vision  at  the  beginning,  being  caused  to  fly 
swiftly,  touched  me  about  the  time  of  the  evening  obla- 
tion." Dan.  ix.  21.  "  At  the  beginning  of  thy  suppli- 
cation the  commandment  came  forth,  and  I  am  come." 
(v.  23.)  "And  in  the  sixth  month  the  angel  Gabriel 
was  sent  from  God  unto  a  city  of  Galilee,  named  Naz- 
areth." Luke  i.  26.  "Now  I  know  of  a  surety  that 
the  Lord  hath  sent  his  angel,  and  hath  delivered  me 
out  of  the  hand  of  Herod,  and  from  all  the  expectation 
of  the  people  of  the  Jews,"  Acts  xii.  11 :  and  in  the 
last  instance  that  is  recorded  by  inspiration  of  an  an- 
gelic mission,  we  read,  "  I  Jesus,  have  sent  mine  angel 
to  testify  unto  you  these  things  in  the  Church."  Rev. 
xxii.  16.  However  willingly  performed  to  men,  it  is 
still  a  service  appointed  of  God,  and  by  him  especially 
directed  ;  they  are  "  ministering  spirits,"  sent  forth  to 
minister  to  them  that  shall  be  heirs  of  salvation,"  Heb. 
i.  14  ;  and  it  is  on  this  principle  of  holy  obedience  that 
we  find  them  zealously  executing  God's  righteous  dis- 
pleasure against  the  rebellious. 

When  the  way  to  the  tree  of  life  was  to  be  closed 
against  fallen  man,  cherubim  were  set  to  guard  the 
entrance,  and  with  their  flaming  sword  rendered  it  un- 
approachable :  when  that  way  was  again  to  be  thrown 
open,  and  the  twelve  manner  of  fruits  yielded  in  their 
season,  and  the  leaves  to  be  applied  for  the  healing  of 
the  nations,  twelve  angels  are  represented  as  standing 


152  OF    THE     HOLY    ANGELS  '. 

at  the  gates  that  are  never  to  be  shut,  day  or  night, 
not  armed  to  bar  the  passage,  but  as  guards  of  honour 
welcoming  the  happy  comers  to  that  scene  of  everlast- 
ing felicity.  The  variety  of  commissions  which  we 
know  the  angels  to  have  executed  among  men,  suffi- 
ciently attest  their  prompt  obedience  to  every  command 
of  their  glorious  King,  whom  to  serve  is  their  privilege 
and  joy :  for  "  he  doeth  according  to  his  will  in  the 
army  of  heaven."  Dan.  iv.  35.  "  Thinkest  thou,"  said 
our  Lord  to  the  disciple  who  smote  the  high  priest's 
servant,  "  thinkest  thou  that  I  cannot  now  pray  to  my 
Father,  and  he  shall  presently  give  me  more  than 
ten  legions  of  angels  ?  But  how  then  shall  the  scriptures 
be  fulfilled,  that  thus  it  must  be  V3  Matt.  xxvi.  53,  54. 
We  now  proceed  to  review  the  instances  of  angelic 
interference,  not  already  exhibited  in  these  pages,  as 
they  occur  in  the  Holy  Scriptures  :  and  as  the  work  of 
vengeance  is  in  no  way  consonant  to  the  character  of  a 
holy  angel,  except  when  executed  in  loyal  obedience  to 
the  command  of  his  righteous  King,  who  will  punish 
evil-doers,  we  may  class  under  the  present  head  all  the 
destructive  operations  of  the  heavenly  host.  In  the 
song  of  Deborah,  we  have  a  curse  sternly  denounced, 
in  language  highly  expressive  of  this  feeling.  "  Curse 
ye  Meroz,  said  the  angel  of  the  Lord,  curse  ye  bitterly 
the  inhabitants  thereof;  because  they  came  not  to  the 
help  of  the  Lord,  to  the  help  of  the  Lord  against  the 
DjUghty."  Judges  v.  23.  The  Lord  needs  no  help  of 
men  or  of  angels ;  yet  the  armies  of  heaven  stand 
around,  eager  to  be  employed  against  the  enemies  of 
his  name  and  of  his  people ;  and  to  withhold  the  hand 


ANGELIC  OBEDIENCE.  153 

when  such  work  is  to  be  done,  seems  to  them  so  hate- 
fully unthankful,  as  to  draw  forth  the  most  emphatic 
anathema  against  such  offenders.  To  render  a  recom- 
pense to  those  who  afflict  Christ  in  his  members,  is 
indeed  a  part  of  angelic  office,  as  David  shows  ;  when 
speaking  of  those  who  sought  to  destroy  his  soul,  he 
says,  "  Let  them  be  as  chaff  before  the  wind  :  and  let 
the  angels  of  the  Lord  chase  them.  Let  their  way  be 
dark  and  slippery,  and  let  the  angel  of  the  Lord  perse- 
cute them."  Psalm  xxxv.  5,  6.  In  virtue  of  this  office^ 
they  will  fulfil  their  terrible  commission  in  the  last 
days  of  the  present  dispensation.  "  The  Son  of  Man 
shall  send  forth  his  angels,  and  they  shall  gather  out 
of  his  kingdom  all  things  that  offend,  and  them  that  do 
iniquity ;  and  shall  cast  them  into  a  furnace  of  fire : 
there  shall  be  wailing  and  gnashing  of  teeth."  Matt, 
xiii.  42.  They  will  come  fully  prepared  for  the  terri- 
ble work  of  that  great  day :  "  It  is  a  righteous  thing 
with  God  to  recompense  tribulation  to  them  that 
trouble  you  ;  and  to  you  who  are  troubled  rest  with 
us,  when  the  Lord  Jesus  shall  be  revealed  from  heaven 
with  his  mighty  angels,  in  flaming  fire,  taking  ven- 
geance on  them  that  know  not  God,  and  that  obey  not 
the  Gospel  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  2  Thess.  i.  6, 
7,  8.  He  "who  maketh  his  angels  spirits;  his  minis- 
ters a  flaming  fire,"  (Psalm  civ.  4,)  has  pre-ordained 
them  to  act  a  most  conspicuous  part  in  the  transactions 
of  the  last  days,  when  they  will  execute  judgment  with 
unerring  obedience,  and  rid  the  earth  of  those  whose 
presence  upon  it  is  a  blemish  and  a  curse.  For  a 
more  particular  description  of  the  part  taken  by  angels 


154  OF    THE    HOLY    ANGELS  : 

in  the  ministry  of  wrath,  we  must  turn  to  the  book  oi 
Revelation,  where  a  scene  of  awful  magnificence  is 
opened  to  us,  in  language  of  unparalleled  grandeur. 

The  apostle  saw,  amid  the  mysterious  splendours  of 
the  heaven  which  he  was  permitted  to  view,  seven 
angels  standing  before  God,  having  each  a  trumpet  in 
his  hand,  the  sounding  of  which  was  to  let  loose  upon  the 
earth  a  succession  of  woes  very  terrible  to  experience. 
In  regular  order,  according  to  the  command  that  had 
been  given,  each  angel  blew  the  trumpet;  and  when 
it  came  to  the  turn  of  the  sixth,  he  was  directed  to 
loose  four  angels  that  were  bound  in  the  great  river 
Euphrates,  and  who,  of  course,  were  evil  spirits,  having 
power  given  them  for  an  appointed  season  to  destroy 
men  by  means  of  a  people  over  whom  they  obtained 
control.  Interpreters  expound  this  of  the  Saracens ; 
but  our  business  is  with  those  who  seduce  their  minds 
and  govern  their  movements;  and  these  are  Satanic 
spirits,  loosed  for  the  purpose  by  one  of  the  angels  of 
God.  Rev.  ix.  13 — 19.  After  this,  the  apostle  wit- 
nessed, the  great  battle,  in  which  Michael  and  his 
angels  vanquished  the  dragon  and  his  host,  and  drove 
them  from  heaven.  Of  the  combat  no  description  is 
given,  for  however  the  mind  of  John  might  be  ex- 
panded and  strengthened  to  sustain  the  tremendous 
vision,  ours  are  not  so  fitted  ;  and  we  should  sink 
under  any  attempt  to  realize  it.  If  the  sight  of  one 
mighty  angel  of  God  preparing  to  execute  judgment 
on  a  city  was  so  terrible  to  David  as  we  have  seen  it 
was,  what  must  have  been  the  rushing  to  war  of  myri- 
ads  in  their  most  tremendous   array;    the    personal 


155 

encounter  of  two  such  hosts,  one  battling  for  the  con- 
tinued possessions  of  "high  places,"  where  they  re- 
tained unspeakable  advantages,  the  other  nerved  to 
expel  those  infernal  rebels  and  intruders  from  the 
presence  of  God. 

We  were  told  by  our  Lord,  (Matt,  xiii.,)  that  the 
reapers  are  angels ;  one  is  represented  to  us  here  as 
having  a  sharp  sickle,  to  whom  another  angel  who 
had  power  over  fire,  cries  with  a  loud  voice,  "  Thrust 
in  thy  sharp  sickle,  and  gather  the  clusters  of  the  vine 
of  the  earth,  for  her  grapes  are  fully  ripe.  And  the 
angel  thrust  in  his  sickle  into  the  earth,  and  gathered 
the  vine  of  the  earth,  and  cast  it  into  the  great  wine- 
press of  the  wrath  of  God.  And  the  wine-press  was 
trodden  without  the  city,  and  blood  came  out  of  the 
wine-press,  even  unto  the  horses'  bridles,  by  the  space 
of  a  thousand  and  six  hundred  furlongs."  Rev.  xiv. 
18—20. 

But  greater  judgments  remained  ;  and  the  seven  last 
plagues  with  which  a  guilty  world  should  be  visited, 
were  committed  to  seven  angels,  who  are  represented 
as  fulfilling  their  mission  with  more  than  passive  obe- 
dience, if  we  may  judge  by  the  stern  interest  with 
which  the  result  of  their  proceedings  was  watched  by 
their  heavenly  companions.  When  the  third  vial  was 
poured  out  upon  the  rivers  and  fountains  of  waters  and 
they  became  blood,  John  continues,  ."I  heard  the  angel 
of  the  waters  say,  Thou  art  righteous,  O  Lord,  which 
art,  and  wast,  and  shall  he,  because  thou  hast  judged 
thus.  For  they  have  shed  the  blood  of  saints  and 
prophets,  and  thou  hast,  given  them  blood  to  drink ;  for 


156  OF    THE    HOLY    ANGELS: 

they  are  worthy.  And  I  heard  another  out  of  the  altar 
say,  Even  so,  Lord  God  Almighty,  true  and  righteous 
are  thy  judgments."  Rev.  xvi.  4 — 7.  But  in  no  part 
of  the  inspired  word  do  we  find  such  a  display  of  an- 
gelic indignation  and  high  displeasure  as  in  the  chap- 
„ers  which  follow  immediately  upon  this.  The  occa- 
sion of  this  strong  exhibition  is  the  rise  of  that  very 
system  which  has  exalted  the  angels  into  objects  of 
worship  ;  and  we  must  refer  to  the  powerful  princi- 
ples of  perfect  obedience  implanted  in  their  spotless 
bosoms  the  extreme  wrath  with  which  they  regard  this 
blaspheming  apostasy.  "  There  came  one  of  the  seven 
angels  which  had  the  seven  vials,  and  talked  with  me, 
saying  unto  me,  Come  hither,  I  will  show  unto  thee 
ihe  judgment  of  the  great  whore  that  sitteth  upon  many 
waters ;  with  whom  the  kings  of  the  earth  have  com- 
mitted fornication,  and  the  inhabiters  of  the  earth  have 
been  made  drunk  with  the  wine  of  her  fornication,'' 
Rev.  xvii.  1,  2.  Having  taken  him  into  the  wilder- 
ness to  show  him  the  typical  representations  of  Papal 
Rome,  the  angel  proceeds  to  explain  to  him  the  mys- 
tery, ending  with  an  assurance  of  her  coming  dissolution. 
"  And  after  these  things  I  saw  another  angel  come 
down  from  heaven,  having  great  power  and  the  earth 
was  lighted  with  his  glory  :  and  he  cried  mightily  with 
a  strong  voice  saying,  Babylon  the  great  is  fallen,  is 
fallen,  and  is  become  the  habitation  of  devils,  and  the 
hold  of  every  foul  spirit,  and  a  cage  of  every  unclean 
and  hateful  bird."  Rev.  xviii.  1,  2.  Another  voice 
from  heaven  summons  God's  people  out  of  her,  and 
adds,  "  For  her  sins  have  reached  unto  heaven,  and 


ANGELIC    OBEDIENCE.  157 

God  hath  remembered  her  iniquities.  Reward  her 
even  as  she  rewarded  you,  and  render  unto  her  double, 
according  to  her  works :  in  the  cup  which  she  hath 
filled,  fill  to  her  double.  How  much  she.  hath  glori- 
fied herself  and  lived  deliciously,  so  much  torment  and 
sorrow  give  her."  Verse  5 — 7.  These  are  terrible 
denunciations  from  the  lips  of  a  holy,  loving  angel : 
they  show  how  abhorrent  to  all  godliness  is  that  great 
mystery  of  iniquity  which  assumes  to  be  the  only  true 
religion  of  Christ.  How  stern  is  the  following  apos- 
trophe uttered  by  the  same  angelic  voice,  in  the  view 
of  her  terrible  desolation  by  flaming  fire  !  "  Rejoice 
over  her,  thou  heaven,  and  ye  holy  apostles  and 
prophets,  for  God  hath  avenged  you  on  her !"  Verse 
20.  Yet  another  exulting  spirit  comes  forward  to 
swell  the  triumph.  "  A  mighty  angel  took  up  a  stone 
like  a  great  millstone,  and  cast  it  in  the  sea.  saying. 
Thus  with  violence  shall  the  great  city  Babylon  be 
thrown  down,  and  shall  be  found  no  more  at  all." 
Verse  21.  In  the  following  burst  of  solemn  rejoicing, 
the  angels  are  no  doubt  included  :  "  And  after  these 
things  I  heard  a  great  voice  of  much  people  in  heaven, 
saying,  Allelulia ;  salvation,  and  glory,  and  honour, 
and  power  unto  the  Lord  our  God :  for  true  and 
righteous  are  his  judgment;  for  he  hath  judged  the 
great  whore  which  did  corrupt  the  earth  with  her  for- 
nications,  and  hath  avenged  the  blood  of  his  servants 
at  her  hand.  And  again  they  said,  Allelulia."  xix. 
1 — 3.  "And  I  heard  as  it  were  the  voice  of  a  great 
multitude,  and  as  the  voice  of  many  waters,  and  as 
the  voice  of  mighty  thunderings,  saying,  Allelulia :  for 
14 


158  OF    THE    HOLY    ANGELS: 

the  Lord  God  omnipotent  reigneth."  Verse  6.  It  was 
in  the  midst  of  all  these  glorious  sights  and  sounds  that 
John  fell  down  1o  worship  the  dazzling  creature,  who 
is  represented  as  being  one  of  the  seven  angels  hold- 
ing the  seven  last  plagues  and  whose  reply  so  remarka- 
bly harmonizes  with  the  Lord's  declaration  that  his 
risen  saints  shall  be  equal  to  the  angels.  "  I  am  thy 
fellow-servant,  and  of  thy  brethren  thai  have  the  testi- 
mony of  Jesus.  Worship  God  ;  for  the  testimony  of 
Jesus  is  the  spirit  of  prophecy."     Verse  10. 

There  are  two  classes  of  persons  to  whom  the  fore- 
going passages  of  holy  writ  may  convey  a  serious  and 
salutary  warning.  One  consists  of  those  who  denounce 
the  study  of  unfulfilled  prophecy  as  needless  if  not 
dangerous  ;  thus  indirectly  charging  God  with  placing 
a  snare  in  our  way,  and  of  baiting  it  with  the  promise 
of  a  blessing  to  such  as  shall  fall  therein;  they  do  not 
consider  that  what  they  set  aside  is  called  by  inspira- 
tion "  The  testimony  of  Jesus."  Moses,  Isaiah,  David, 
and  the  rest  of  the  Old  Testament  seers,  are  allowed 
to  have  testified  of  Jesus,  foreshowing  what  should  be 
the  nature,  what  the  object  and  effects  of  his  first 
coming  into  the  world ;  and  why,  when  they  and  the 
New  Testament  writers  also,  set  forth  the  signs,  and 
judgments,  the  glories  connected  with  his  second 
coming,  should  we  be  told  to  avert  our  eyes,  to  close 
our  ears,  and  to  resolve  that  until  we  see  we  will  not 
believe  ?  Speculative,  no  doubt,  such  studies  are  ;  for 
according  to  our  great  Lexicographer,  to  speculate, 
means  "  to  meditate  ;  to  contemplate;  to  take  a  view 
of  any  thing   with  the  mind  ;"  and  in  this  sense  faith 


ANGELIC    OBEDIENCE.  159 

itself  is  a  speculative  thing  :  God  has  fitted  our  minds 
to  behold,  to  embrace,  to  rest  upon  "  things  hoped  for 
....  things  not  seen  ;"  and  it  is  the  highest  privilege 
not  only  of  nature  but  of  grace  so  to  do.  Paul  prays 
concerning  his  Ephesian  Church,  "  That  the  God  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  Father  of  glory,  may  give 
unto  you  the  spirit  of  wisdom  and  revelation  in  the 
knowledge  of  him  :  the  eyes  of  your  understanding 
being  enlightened  ;  that  ye  may  know  what  is  the  hope 
of  your  calling,  and  what  the  riches  of  the  glory  of  his 
inheritance  in  the  saints,  and  what  the  exceeding  great- 
ness of  his  power  to  usward  who  believe."  Eph.  i.  17- 
19.  Shall  we  then  thrust  from  us  one  of  the  greatest 
means  of  acquiring  this  knowledge,  and  forget  that 
"the  testimony  of  Jesus  is  the  spirit  of  prophecy  ?" 

The  other  class  comprises  those  who  regard  it  as  a 
breach  of  Christian  charity  to  speak  with  confident 
gladness  of  the  final,  utter,  eternal  overthrow  of  Popery, 
as  an  event  near  at  hand  ;  or  as  a  thing  not  to  be  an- 
ticipated at  all.     They  do  not   consider,  perhaps  they  1 
do  not  believe,  that  while  they  are  speaking  smooth 
things  of  Popery  and  hoping  good  things  concerning  it,  | 
that  foul  apostasy  perpetually  replenishing  hell  with  j  X^^ 
lost  souls  provokes   the  wrath  of  God,  and  fires  with 
holy   indignation  the   pure   angels   of  heaven.     The' 
charity  in  which  such  well-meaning  Christians  £oast 
themselves  is  not  the  charity  of  the  Bible.     Love  to 
souls  is  what  the  Lord  inculcates ;  and  proportioned  to 
our  love  for  the  soul  will  be  our  unextinguishable 
hatred  of  that  which  betrays  and  destroys  it.     Baby- 
lon the  great,  the  system  that  arrogates  to  itself  the 


160  Of  THE    HOLY    ANGELS  ! 

title  of  the  holy  Catholic  Church,  that  assumes  to  be 
the  mother  and  mistress  of  all  churches,  and  to  anathe- 
matize all  without  its  pale — this  groat  Babylon  delibe- 
rately sins  against  light  and  knowledge  ;  holds  the 
Bible  and  withholds  it  from  her  slaves ;  professes 
Christ,  and  blasphemes  him  ;  raises  an  edifice  seem- 
ingly on  the  foundation  of  the  apostles  and  prophets, 
and  fills  it  with  idols,  thus  committing  and  drawing 
all  her  votaries  all  over  the  world  to  commit  what 
declares  to  be  spiritual  adultery,  most  hateful,  most  in- 
sulting to  him.  The  angels  who  are  represented  in 
the  Revelation  of  St.  John  as  loudly  exulting  over  the 
violent  fall  of  this  antichristian  power,  have  been  min- 
istering spirits  to  those  who  in  the  dungeon,  on  the 
rack,  and  amid  the  flames  glutted  her  murderous  cru- 
elty with  their  life-blood,  and  glorified  the  Lord  Jesus 
by  rejecting,  with  abhorrence,  her  sacrilegious  rites. 
We  cannot  now  enter  into  the  depths  of  their  feelings 
in  the  contemplation  of  her  fearful  doom  :  but  we.  if  we 
belong  to  Christ,  shall  see  what  some  of  us  now  : 
to  think  of;  and  shall  be  constrained  to  glorify  God 
by  rejoicing  over  the  fallen  enemy  of  his  kingdom  and 
of  his  people  ;  for  ••  in  righteousness  doth  he  judge, 
and  make  war." 

Babylon  being  thus  doomed  and  destroyed,  it  re- 
mains but  that  all  the  enemies  of  Christ  should  assem. 
hie  for  a  final  overthrow;  and  here  we  have  another 
splendid  image  presented  to  us.  "I  saw  an  angel 
standing  in  the  sun,  and  he  cried  with  a  loud  voice, 
saying  to  all  the  fowls  that  fly  in  the  midst  of  heaven, 
come  and  gather  yourselves  together  unto  the  supper 


ANGELIC    OBEDIENCE.  161 

of  the  great  God,  that  ye  may  eat  the  fleet  of  kings, 
and  the  flesh  of  captains,  and  the  flesh  of  mighty  men, 
and  the  flesh  of  horses,  and  of  them  that  sit  on  them, 

and  the  flesh  of  all  men,  hoth  free  and  bond,  both  small 
and  great."  (xix.  17,  L8.) 

The  last  act  of  the  militant  angel,  distinctly  record- 
ed in  Scripture,  if  one  which  we  must  all  look  forward 
to  with  joyful  anticipation.  -'And  I  saw  an  ; 
come  down  from  hf-avc-n,  baring  the  key  of  the  bot- 
tomless pit,  and  a  great  chain  in  his  hand  :  and  \\c  laid 
hold  on  the  dragon,  that  old  serpent,  which  is  the  Devil, 
and  Satan,  and  bound  him  a  thousand  years,  and  cast 
him  into  the  bottomless  pit,  and  shut  him  up,  and  seta 
seal  upon  him,  that  he  should  deceive  the  nations  no 
more,  till  the  thousand  years  should  be  fulfilled."  fxx. 
1,  2,  3.)  What  part  the  holy  angels  will  take  in  she 
scenes  that  arc  to  close  earth's  history,  we  are  not  told. 
The  loosing  of  Satan  from  his  prison  will  lead  to  an- 
other outbreak  of  human  wickedness  ;  but  fire  coming 
down  from  God  out  of  heaven  is  named  as  the  instru- 
ment of  the  rebel's  destruction  ;  and  in  the  awful  judg- 
ment that  follows,  no  mention  is  made  of  angelic  min- 
istry in  the  execution  of  God's  terrible  decree  on  those 
who  are  not  found  written  in  the  book  of  life.  Thence- 
forth nothing  but  harmony,  joy,  and  the  peace  of 
heaven,  will  remain  for  the  angels  and  those  who  are 
made  equal  to  them.  We  have  done  with  the  dispen- 
sation of  wrath,  and  now  go  back  to  the  commence- 
ment to  trace  out  the  many  instances  in  which  Scrip- 
ture reveals  them  in  the  sweet  and  gracious  offices  of 
love  and  protection  to  the  people  of  the  Most  High. 
14* 


IV. 

ANGELIC  MINISTRY. 

When  treating  of  angelic  ministry,  we  must  bear  in 
mind  the  sympathy  which  exists  in  their  bosoms,  for 
the  angels  know  themselves  to  be  by  nature  liable  to 
fall,  even  as  Adam  was ;  and  that  the  same  electing 
love  which  raises  the  sinner,  and  sets  him  in  heavenly 
places  in  Christ  Jesus,  also  preserves  them  from  the 
guilt  and  condemnation  of  Satan  and  his  crew.  The 
rejoicing  that  takes  place  in  heaven  when  a  soul  is 
brought  to  God  in  penitence  and  faith,  is  a  proof  of 
this  ;  and  we  shall  find,  as  we  go  on,  many  indications 
of  tender  sympathy  on  the  part  of  the  angelic  minis- 
ters  of  God's  mercy  to  man  expressed  by  so  much 
condescending  gentleness  and  delicate  consideration, 
as  we  may  truly  call  it,  for  the  weaknesses  of  our  poor 
fallen  race,  that  when  we  divest  an  angel  of  his  fabu- 
lous characteristics,  and  picture  him  to  ourselves  the 
exceedingly  majestic,  formidable  creature  that  Holy 
Scripture  describes,  we  may  well  feel  our  hearts  melt- 
ed into  grateful  affection  for  these  our  glorious  and 


ANGELIC    MINISTRY.  163 

highly  privileged  "  fellow-servants."  May  the  Crea- 
tor and  Preserver  alike  of  angels  and  of  men,  be  with 
us  to  direct,  to  guard,  and  to  bless  our  inquiries  into 
the  precious  record  of  these  angelic  ministrations  of 
mercy  and  love ! 

The  first  instance  we  meet  with  is  that  of  Hagar  in 
her  desolation  and  distress,  brought  on  herself  by  des- 
pising her  mistress.  A  fugitive,  alone,  and  friendless, 
she  had  reached  a  fountain  of  water,  and  there  rested  ; 
probably  unable  to  choose  a  path  in  that  desert.  "And 
the  angel  of  the  Lord  found  her  by  a  fountain  of  wa- 
ter in  the  wilderness,  by  the  fountain  in  the  way  to 
Shur.  And  he  said,  Hagar,  Sarai's  maid,  whence 
comest  thou  ?  and  whither  wilt  thou  go  ?"  She  could 
not  answer  the  latter  part  of  the  interrogatory,  and  to 
the  former  she  gave  a  reply  that  included  no  ac- 
knowledgment of  her  own  misconduct ;  "I  flee  from 
the  face  of  my  mistress,  Sarai."  No  reproof  was 
given  :  not  a  word  of  reproach  for  her  rebellious  of- 
fence, but  what  was  implied  in  the  answer,  proving 
how  well  the  celestial  speaker  knew  the  actual  cir- 
cumstances of  her  case.  "  And  the  angel  of  the  Lord 
said  unto  her,  Return  to  thy  mistress,  and  submit  thy- 
self under  her  hands.  And  the  angel  of  the  Lord  said 
unto  her,  I  will  multiply  thy  seed  exceedingly,  that  it 
shall  not  be  numbered  for  multitude.  And  the  angel 
of  the  Lord  said  unto  her,  Behold,  thou  art  with  child, 
and  shalt  bear  a  son,  and  call  his  name  Ishmael ;  be- 
cause the  Lord  hath  heard  thy  affliction.  And  he  will 
be  a  wild  man ;  his  hand  will  be  against  every  man, 
and  every  man's  hand  against  him :  and  he  shall  dwell 


164  OF   THE   HOLY    ANGELS: 

in  the  presence  of  all  his  brethren.  And  she  called 
the  name  of  the  Lord  that  spake  unto  her,  Thou  God 
seest  me :  for  she  said,  Have  I  also  here  looked  after 
him  that  seeth  me  ?"  Gen.  xvi.  7 — 13.  There  is  a  dif- 
ficulty here  that  often  meets  us  in  similar  circum- 
stances :  the  speaker  is  an  angel  of  the  Lord ;  yet  the 
latter  part  of  his  address  is  delivered  as  in  the  person 
of  God  himself;  and  Hagar  evidently  considered  that 
the  voice  was  that  of  the  Lord.  In  some  cases  we 
know  that  he  is  spoken  of  under  the  term  angel : 
though  in  the  appearance  of  the  burning  bush,  where 
Moses  says,  "  The  angel  of  the  Lord  appeared  unto 
him  in  a  flame  of  fire  out  of  the  middle  of  the  bush," 
he  presently  adds,  "  when  the  Lord  saw  that  he  turned 
aside  to  see,  God  called  unto  him  out  of  the  midst  of 
the  bush,  and  said,  Moses,  Moses.  And  he  said,  Here 
am  I."  Exodus  iii.  2 — 4.  So  that  it  may  be  supposed 
he  first  saw  a  glorious  angel,  and  afterwards  heard  the 
voice  of  God  himself.  This  seems  at  first  to  be  con- 
firmed by  Stephen's  narrative  :  he  says,  "  There  ap- 
peared to  him  in  the  wilderness  of  Mount  Sinai  an  an- 
gel of  the  Lord,  in  a  flame  of  fire,  in  a  bush.  When 
Moses  saw  it,  he  wondered  at  the  sight ;  and  as  he 
drew  near  to  behold  it,  the  voice  of  the  Lord  came  un- 
to him,  saying,  I  am  the  God  of  thy  fathers ;  the  God 
of  Abraham,  and  the  God  of  Isaac,  and  the  God  of  Ja- 
cob." Acts  vii.  30 — 32.  Yet  presently  afterwards  he 
adds,  "  This  is  he  that  was  in  the  church  in  the  wil- 
derness, with  the  angel  which  spoke  to  him  in  Mount 
Sinai,  and  with  our  fathers,  who  received  the  lively 
oracles  to  give  unto  us,"  verse  38.     And  once  more, 


ANGELIC    MINISTRY.  105 

he  says,  "  Ye  stiff-necked  and  uncircumcised  in  heart 
and  ears .  .  .  who  have  received  the  law  by  the  dis- 
position of  angels,  and  have  not  kept  it,"  (verses  51 — 
53,)  and  the  plural  is  again  used  by  Paul :  "  If  the 
word  spoken  by  angels  was  steadfast,  and  every  trans- 
gression and  disobedience  received  a  just  recompense 
of  reward,  how  shall  we  escape  if  we  neglect  so  great 
salvation,  which  at  first  began  to  be  spoken  by  the 
Lord,  and  was  confirmed  unto  us  by  them  that  heard 

him  ? For  unto  the   angels   hath  he  not  put  in 

subjection  the  world  to  come,  whereof  we  speak.'7 
Heb.  ii.  2—5. 

By  collating  these  passages  we  may  learn  caution  in 
pronouncing  that,  when  the  Bible  tells  us  an  angel  ap- 
peared or  spoke,  it  was  God  who  appeared  or  spoke : 
and  we  may  also  remember  that  the  prophets  very  fre- 
quently make  abrupt  transitions  from  speaking  in  their 
own  persons  to  speaking  in  the  Lord's,  without  the 
usual  preface,  Thus  saith  the  Lord  :  and  we  can  read- 
ily suppose  a  created  angel,  fulfilling  the  office  of  an 
ambassador  from  the  Most  High,  may  do  the  same 
thing,  delivering  his  Master's  message  in  his  Master's 
words  ;  and  so  occasioning  us  to  draw  conclusions  not 
warranted  by  the  text.  The  instances  in  which  we 
are  undoubtedly  to  believe  that  by  the  term  angel  our 
Lord  Jesus  is  meant,  are  Gen.  xlviii.  15,  16,  where 
Jacob  says,  "  God,  before  whom  my  fathers  Abraham 
and  Isaac  did  walk,  the  God  which  fed  me  all  my  life 
long  to  this  day,  the  Angel  which  redeemed  me  from 
all  evil,  bless  the  lads ;"  and  in  that  remarkable  pas- 
sage, Exod.  xxiii.  20 :  "  Behold,  I  send  an  angel  be- 


166  OF   THE    HOLY    ANGELS: 

fore  thee,  to  keep  thee  in  the  way,  and  to  bring  thee 
into  the  place  I  have  prepared.  Beware  of  him  and 
obey  his  voice,  provoke  him  not :  for  he  will  not  pardon 
your  transgressions,  for  my  name  is  in  him.  But  if 
thou  shalt  indeed  obey  his  voice,  and  do  all  that  I  speak ; 
then  I  will  be  an  enemy  unto  thine  enemies,  and  an 
adversary  unto  thine  adversaries."  This  could  hardly 
be  spoken  of  any  created  being ;  and  we  know  that 
the  provocations  of  the  Israelites  in  the  wilderness  are 
called  by  St.  Paul  "tempting  Christ."  1  Cor.  x.  9. 
These  cautions  recorded,  we  may  be  satisfied  to  pro- 
ceed, with  the  plain  word  of  inspiration  to  guide  us. 

The  three  men  who  visited  Abraham  as  he  sat  in  the 
tent  door  in  the  heat  of  the  day,  (Gen.  xviii.  1,)  are  no 
where  called  angels  ;  but  there  can  be  little  doubt  that 
two  of  them  were  the  same  who  immediately  after- 
wards went  to  Lot,  in  Sodom.  This  we  know,  that  it 
is  distinctly  said  of  Abraham,  in  reference  to  this  event, 
"  The  Lord  appeared  unto  him  ;"  and  that  in  the  sub- 
sequent part  of  the  narrative  the  Lord  is  represented 
as  communing  with  him,  and  is  repeatedly  named.  We 
will  not  intrude  into  what  the  Holy  Spirit  has  so  closely 
veiled,  but  proceed  to  the  next  chapter,  where  we  are 
not  left  to  guess  at  the  nature  of  the  persons  spoken  of. 
"  There  came  two  angels  to  Sodom  at  even,"  (Gen.  xix. 
1.)  evidently  in  human  form,  for  Lot,  as  Abraham  had 
done,  proffered  hospitable  entertainment,  and  pressed  it 
upon  them  with  earnest  importunity:  the  whole  story 
shows  that  Lot  had  then  no  suspicion  of  their  being 
other  than  mere  mortal  men,  and  that  bo  far  from  need. 
ing    his  generous,   self-devoted    protection,    they    had 


ANGELIC    MINISTRY.  167 

power  and  authority  to  destroy  the  place,  which  was 
only  respited  until  he  and  his  should  be  delivered. 
Considering  how  wholly  Satan  and  his  infernal  crew 
triumphed  in  those  guilty  cities,  and  how  perfectly  con- 
scious of  their  presence  and  influence  the  holy  angels 
must  have  been,  their  patient  abiding  in  such  a  place, 
the  purely  defensive  nature  of  the  miracle  which  they 
wrought,  and  the  deliberate  manner  in  which  they  pro- 
ceeded to  extricate  the  favoured  individuals  committed 
to  their  charge,  are  very  striking.  Unmoved  by  the 
tumults  in  the  streets,  continuing  all  night,  they  quietly 
awaited  the  break  of  day,  for  Lot  was  not  to  quit  the 
place  unseen,  or  under  the  cover  of  darkness,  nor  to 
leave  his  ungodly  sons-in-law  unwarned ;  and  so  long 
as  he  staid,  his  presence  was  a  protection  to  the  cities, 
and  to  every  sinner  in  them.  The  -mission  of  the  an- 
gels was  two-fold,  first  to  deliver  the  godly,  then  to 
destroy  the  ungodly ;  and  this  renders  it  so  lively  a 
type  of  the  great  day  of  the  coming  of  the  Son  of  man, 
when  the  angels  will  be  sent  to  gather  his  elect  from 
the  four  quarters  of  the  earth,  previous  to  the  terrible 
destruction  that  shall  fall  upon  his  foes.  The  angels 
expressly  said  to  Lot,  "  We  will  destioy  this  place  .  . 
.  .  .the  Lord  hath  sent  us  to  destroy  it,"  (verse  13  ;) 
and  again,  "  I  cannot  do  any  thing  till  thou  become 
thither."  (verse  22.)  Yet  they  expressed  anxiety,  as 
though  delay  endangered  him  ;  "  Escape  for  thy  life  : 
look  not  behind  thee,  neither  stay  thou  in  all  the  plain  : 
escape  to  the  mountain,  lest  thou  be  consumed." 
(verse  17.)  It  is  lovely  to  contemplate  the  earnestly 
devoted  spirit  in  which  these  blessed  creatures  fulfilled 


168  OF   THE    HOLY   ANGELS : 

their  office,  even  forcing  deliverance  upon  those  who 
were  loth  to  quit  a  spot  containing  their  worldly  sub- 
stance, their  kindred,  and  neighbours  ;  alienated  from 
God  as  the  latter  were  by  their  wicked  works.  The 
fate  of  Lot's  wife  is  remarkable,  and  as  being  pecu- 
liarly instructive,  our  Lord  has  commanded  us  to  re- 
member it  when  the  time  comes  of  which  this  deliver- 
ance was  symbolical.  She  clung,  it  is  true,  to  the 
hand  of  an  angels,  but  she  disobeyed  God  ;  and  her 
celestial  guardian  could  not  avert  the  penal  conse- 
quences of  her  offence.  This  may  prove  a  lesson  to 
three  classes  of  people :  angel-worshipers,  worldly- 
minded  professors,  and  unbelievers  in  what  the  Lord 
has  revealed  of  his  coming  judgments.  He  makes 
his  angel  the  means  of  our  escape  from  danger,  but 
leaves  it  not  in  their  power  to  preserve  a  hair  of  our 
heads  from  his  righteous  visitations :  he  saves  us  from 
among  the  ungodly,  in  answer  to  the  prayer  of  faith, 
but  is  not  pledged  to  continue  to  us  the  good  things  of 
the  world  on  which  our  hearts  are  set:  and  if,  through 
unbelief,  we  stagger  either  at  his  promises  or  his 
threats,  we  break  our  covenant  with  him,  and  leave 
our  souls  to  be  gathered  with  the  ungodly. 

The  next  instance  of  angelic  interposition,  is  the 
memorable  one  of  Abraham's  intended  sacrifice  of  his 
son ;  and  here  we  have  the  ambassador  speaking  in- 
deed in  the  first  person,  but  with  the  explanatory 
clause,  "  Saith  the  Lord."  "And  the  angel  of  the 
Lord  called  unto  him  out  of  heaven,  and  said,  Abra- 
ham. And  he  said,  Here  am  I.  And  he  said,  Lay  not 
thine  hand  upon  the  lad,  neither  do  thou  anything  unto 


ANGELIC    MINISTRY.  169 

him ;  for  now  I  know  that  thou  fearest  God,  seeing 
thou  hast  not  withheld  thy  son,  thine  only  son  from 
me.  .  .  .  And  the  angel  of  the  Lord  called  unto  Abra- 
ham out  of  heaven  a  second  time,  and  said,  By  myself 
have  I  sworn,  saith  the  Lord,  for  because  thou  hast 
done  this  thing,  and  hast  not  withheld  thy  son,  thine 
only  son  ;  that  in  blessing  I  will  bless,  and  in  multi- 
plying I  will  multiply  thy  seed  as  the  stars  in  heaven, 
and  as  the  sand  which  is  upon  the  sea-shore  ;  and  thy 
seed  shall  possess  the  gate  of  his  enemies."  Gen.  xxii. 
11—17. 

When  Abraham  instructed  his  faithful  steward 
Eliezer  to  seek  a  wife  for  Isaac  from  among  his  kin- 
dred, he  confidently  assured  him  that  the  Lord  would 
send  an  angel  before  him  to  prosper  his  way ;  and  this 
the  servant  repeated  to  Rebekah's  family,  when  relating 
the  extraordinary  manner  in  which  he  had  been  guided. 
Gen.  xxiv.  7 — 40.  It  is  a  beautiful  instance  of  prayer- 
ful faith  on  man's  part,  and  an  answering  providence 
on  that  of  God.  Eliezer  was  directed,  and  his  way 
was  prospered  in  a  most  marvelous  manner.  And 
why  marvelous  ?  because  of  our  unbelief,  which 
rarely  can  attain  to  .such  child-like  reliance  on  the 
promises  of  God,  or  we  should  continually  experience 
the  same  proofs,  that  what  he  hath  promised  he  will 
also  perform. 

Jacob's  vision  has  already  been  noticed  :  he  saw  a 
ladder  set  upon  the  earth,  the  top  of  which  reached  to 
heaven  ;  and  the  angels  of  God  ascended  and  descended 
upon  the  ladder.  The  interpretation  of  this  is  seen  in 
the  declaration  of  the  Lord,  who  stood  above  the  ladder, 
15 


170  OF   THE    HOLY   ANGELS : 

and  who  repeated  the  glorious  promise — "  In  thy  seed 
shall  all  the  families  of  the  earth  be  blessed."  Gen. 
xxviii.  14.  The  incarnation  and  sacrifice  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  the  Lamb  slain  from  the  foundation  of 
the  world,  is  the  procuring  cause  of  what  we  are  now 
considering — the  ministry  of  those  angels  who  could 
never  have  worn  towards  man  any  other  aspect  than 
that  of  stern,  irreconcilable  hostility,  had  man  remain- 
ed  under  the  dominion  of  Satan,  to  do  forever  the  work 
of  his  conquering  master.  It  was  through  the  dying 
and  rising  again  of  the  Son  of  God,  to  be  accomplished 
in  the  fulness  of  time,  that  angels  could  find  a  medium 
of  friendly  communication  with  earth ;  and  Jacob 
knew  this,  assuredly ;  for  his  was  the  saving  faith  de- 
scribed by  Paul,  "  the  substance  of  things  hoped  for ; 
the  evidence  of  things  not  seen."  Heb.  xi.  1. 

The  cloudy  pillar  had  an  angelic  attendant.  "  The 
angel  of  God  which  went  before  the  camp  of  Israel, 
removed  and  went  behind  them  ;  and  the  pillar  of  the 
cloud  went  from  before  their  face,  and  stood  behind 
them,  and  it  came  between  the  camp  of  Israel  and  the 
camp  of  the  Egyptians."  Exod.  xiv.  19,  20.  We  can 
hardly  read  this  without  remembering  what  Gabriel 
said  to  Daniel,  of  Michael  the  archangel,  calling  him 
"  the  great  prince  that  standeth  for  the  children  of  Un- 
people." No  doubt  there  were  myriads  of  those  oelee- 
tial  warriors  seen  afterward  on  the  mountain  of  Do- 
than  ;  but  they  had  a  leader  appointed  of  God :  and 
of  him  it  is  said  afterwards — "  I  will  send  an  Rfigel 
before  thee  ;  and  I  will  drive  out  the  Canaanite,  the 
Amorite,  and  the  Hittite,  and  the  Perrizite,  the  Hivite, 


ANGELIC    MINISTRY.  171 

and  the  Jebusite."  Exod.  xxxiii.  2.  And  to  prove  that 
this  was  to  be  really  a  created  angel,  the  Lord  also 
says — "  For  I  will  not  go  up  in  the  midst  of  thee,  for 
thou  art  a  stiff-necked  people ;  lest  I  consume  thee  in 
the  way."  Exod.  xxxiii.  3. 

We  meet  no  more  with  angels,  until  Balaam's 
alarming  encounter,  which  does  not  come  under  this 
head  ;  and  then  we  lose  sight  of  them  again,  until  the 
people  being  securely  settled  in  the  promised  land,  and 
proceeding,  as  usual,  to  provoke  the  Lord  by  their  dis- 
obedience, they  are  strongly  reproved,  yet  with  much 
mild  dignity,  by  a  commissioned  minister.  "  An  angel 
of  the  Lord  came  up  from  Gilgal  to  Bochim,  and  said, 
I  made  you  go  up  out  of  Egypt,  and  have  brought  you 
unto  the  land  which  I  swear  unto  your  fathers :  and  I 
said,  I  will  never  break  my  covenant  with  you.  And 
ye  shall  make  no  league  with  the  inhabitants  of  this 
land ;  ye  shall  throw  down  their  altars :  but  ye  have 
not  obeyed  my  voice  :  why  have  ye  done  this  ?  Where- 
fore I  also  said,  I  will  not  drive  them  out  from  before 
you  :  but  they  shall  be  as  thorns  in  your  sides ;  and 
their  gods  shall  be  a  snare  unto  you.  And  it  came  to 
pass,  when  the  angel  of  the  Lord  spake  these  words 
unto  all  the  children  of  Israel,  that  the  people  lifted 
up  their  voice  and  wept."  Judges  ii.  1 — 4.  Although 
the  purport  of  this  message  was  menacing,  the  tone  was 
very  gentle,  and  the  remonstrance,  "  Why  have  ye 
done  this?"  following  close  on  the  remembrance  of 
God's  faithfulness  to  his  great  promises,  was  well  cal- 
culated to  melt  the  people  as  it  did ;  so  that  for  a  time 
they  returned  to  their  duty,  and  served  the  Lord ;  but 


172  OF    THE    HOLY   ANGELS  : 

revolts  ensued,  and  deliverances  were  granted  on  their 
temporary  repentance,  until  on  another  provocation, 
the  Lord  delivered  them  into  the  hand  of  Midian  for 
seven  years.  The  children  of  Israel,  greatly  oppress- 
ed and  impoverished,  cried  unto  the  Lord ;  and  then 
followed  this  interposition :  "  There  came  an  angel  of 
the  Lord,  and  sat  under  an  oak  which  was  in  Ophrah, 
that  pertained  unto  Joash  the  Abe-ezrite  :  and  his  son 
Gideon  threshed  wheat  by  the  wine-press,  to  hide  it 
from  the  Midianites.  And  the  angel  of  the  Lord  ap- 
peared unto  him,  and  said  unto  him,  The  Lord  is  with 
thee,  thou  mighty  man  of  valour.  And  Gideon  said 
unto  him,  Oh  my  Lord,  if  the  Lord  be  with  us,  why 
then  is  all  this  befallen  us  ?  and  where  be  all  his  mira- 
cles which  our  fathers  told  us  of  saying,  Did  not  the 
Lord  bring  us  up  from  Egypt  ?  But  now  the  Lord 
hath  forsaken  us,  and  delivered  us  into  the  hands  of 
the  Midianites."  It  does  not  appear  that  Gideon  sus- 
pected the  celestial  character  of  the  person  he  con- 
versed with  :  indeed,  it  is  certain  he  did  not ;  and  the 
respectful  style  in  which  he  addressed  the  stranger 
must  have  resulted  from  perceiving  in  him  so  much 
of  dignity,  as  demanded  it ;  while  an  equal  degree  of 
benevolence  in  this  aspect,  doubtless  led  to  so  frank  a 
tone,  in  answering  one  who  might  be  a  spy  of  the 
enemy.  The  narrative  proceeds  : — "  And  the  Lord 
looked  upon  him,  and  said,  Go  in  this  thy  might,  and 
thou  shalt  save  Israel  from  the  hand  of  the  Midianites  : 
have  not  I  sent  thee  ?  And  he  said  unto  him,  Oh  my 
Lord,  wherewith  shall  I  save  Israel  ?  Behold  my " 
family  is  poor  in  Manasseh,  and  I  am  the  least  in  my 


ANGELIC    MINISTRY.  173 

father's  house.  And  the  Lord  said  unto  him,  Surely 
I  will  be  with  thee,  and  thou  shalt  smite  the  Midian- 
ites  as  one  man."  This  seems  to  have  excited  Gide- 
on's hope  that  his  companion's  was  indeed  a  message 
from  the  Lord  :  probably  he  took  him  for  a  prophet. 
"  And  he  said  unto  him,  If  now  I  have  found  grace  in 
thy  sight,  then  show  me  a  sign  that  thou  talkest  with 
me.  Depart  not  hence  I  pray  thee,  until  I  come  unto 
thee,  and  bring  forth  my  present,  and  set  it  before 
thee.  And  he  said,  I  will  tarry  until  thou  come  again. 
And  Gideon  went  in,  and  made  ready  a  kid,  and  un- 
leavened cakes  of  an  ephah  of  flour :  the  flesh  he  put  in 
a  basket,  and  he  put  the  broth  in  a  pot,  and  brought  it 
out  unto  him  under  the  oak,  and  presented  it.  And 
the  angel  of  the  Lord  said  unto  him,  Take  the  flesh, 
and  the  unleavened  cakes  and  lay  them  upon  this  rock, 
and  pour  out  the  broth.  And  he  did  so.  Then  the 
angel  of  the  Lord  put  forth  the  end  of  the  staff  that 
was  in  his  hand,  and  touched  the  flesh,  and  the  un- 
leavened cakes  ;  and  there  rose  up  fire  out  of  the  rock, 
and  consumed  the  flesh  and  the  unleavened  cakes. 
Then  the  angel  of  the  Lord  departed  out  of  his  sight. 
And  when  Gideon  perceived  that  he  was  an  angel  of 
the  Lord,  Gideon  said,  Alas,  O  Lord  God  :  for  because 
I  have  seen  an  angel  of  the  Lord  face  to  face.  And 
the  Lord  said  unto  him,  Peace  be  unto  thee,  fear  not : 
thou  shalt  not  die."  Judges  vi.  11 — 23. 

After  this  remarkable  interview  with  an  angel  mes- 
senger, we  find  Gideon  receiving  communications  direct 
from  the  Lord  himself;  but  the  way  in  which  he  was 
prepared  for  these  revelations  was  exceedingly  beauti- 
15* 


174  OF    THE    HOLY    ANGELS  I 

ful.  The  angel  probably  appeared  as  a  wayfaring 
man,  since  we  read  of  the  staff  that  he  had  in  his 
hand ;  and  the  language  in  which  he  addressed  the 
young  thresher  of  wheat,  was  exquisitely  adapted  at 
once  to  encourage  and  to  prepare  him  for  fuller  mani- 
festations of  the  divine  favour.  After  this,  we  hear  of 
no  more  angelic  visits  :  the  language  is  uniformly, 
"  The  Lord  said  unto  Gideon,"  and  under  the  imme- 
diate direction  of  Jehovah,  he  wrought  all  his  stupen- 
dous exploits,  delivering  Israel,  and  preserving  peace 
within  her  borders  to  the  end  of  a  long  life. 

There  is  something  remarkable  in  the  frequently 
abrupt  transitions  from  the  description  and  language 
of  an  angel  to  the  presence  and  the  voice  of  God  him- 
self. We  have  seen  this  in  the  first  communication 
made  to  Moses,  from  the  flaming  bush ;  and  surely  it 
is  at  least  equally  consonant  with  reason  and  Scripture 
to  suppose  the  Lord  graciously  prepared  his  weak,  sin- 
ful creatures  to  hear  His  voice,  and  to  be  sensible  of 
His  special  presence,  by  this  method  of  heralding  Him- 
self, as  to  insist  that  when  an  angel  is  distinctly  named, 
the  Lord  Jesus  is  the  person  intended.  It  is  dangerous 
to  put  arbitrary  interpretations  on  God's  words,  for 
which  wc  have  no  direct  authority  from  Himself;  the 
determination  fully  to  comprehend  and  account  for 
"secret  things,"  which  "belong  unto  the  Lord  our 
God,"  may  lead  to  presumption,  to  "foolish  and  un- 
learned questions,"  and  perhaps  to  very  dangerous 
errors  connected  with  the  person  and  office  of  the  Lord 
Jesus :  while  by  receiving  in  its  most  obvious  sense 
Avhat  the  Holy  Spirit  has  moved  his  servants  to  write 


ANGELIC    MINISTRY.  175 

for  our  learning,  we  cannot  greatly  mistake.  An  in- 
spired  apostle  has  told  us,  that  the  created  angels  are 
"  ministering  spirits,  sent  forth  to  minister  to  them  that 
shall  be  heirs  of  salvation."  We  find  throughout  the 
Old  Testament,  and  in  the  book  of  Revelation,  angels 
constantly  described  as  engaged  in  this  very  work ; 
and  why  should  we  question  their  identity  ?  why  per- 
sist in  understanding  the  greater  part  of  these  descrip- 
tions of  angelic  ministry  as  referring  to  Him  of  whom 
it  is  especially  testified  that  "  He  took  not  upon  Him 
the  nature  of  angels."     Heb.  ii.  16. ' 

Gideon  being  gathered  to  his  fathers,  and  Israel,  as 
usual,  continuing  to  revolt,  and  to  provoke  the  Lord, 
they  were  repeatedly  chastised  by  the  hands  both  of 
foreign  and  domestic  tyrants.  At  length,  after  more 
than  one  generation  had  passed  away,  the  gracious  and 
merciful  God  whose  Holy  Spirit  they  grieved  with 
their  iniquities,  prepared  to  raise  up  another  deliverer, 
and  sent  a  heavenly  messenger  with  the  tidings.  The 
history  is  remarkable,  and  deserves  particular  atten- 
tion. Manoah,  a  Danite,  had  a  wife  who  was  barren  ; 
"  And  the  angel  of  the  Lord  appeared  unto  the  wo- 
man, and  said,  Behold  now,  thou  art  barren,  and 
bearest  not :  but  thou  shalt  conceive,  and  bear  a  son. 
Now,  therefore,  beware,  I  pray  thee,  and  drink  not 
wine  nor  strong  drink,  and  eat  not  any  unclean  thing : 
for  lo,  thou  shalt  conceive,  and  bear  a  son  ;  and  no 
razor  shall  come  on  his  head  :  for  the  child  shall  be  a- 
Nazarite  unto  God  from  the  womb  ;  and  he  shall  be- 
gin to  deliver  Israel  out  of  the  hands  of  the  Philistines. 
Then  the  woman  came  and  told  her  husband,  sayings 


176  OF    THE    HOLY    ANGELS'. 

A  man  of  God  came  unto  me,  and  his  countenance 
was  like  the  countenance  of  an  angel  of  God,  very 
terrible :  but  I  asked  him  not  whence  he  was,  neither 
told  he  me  his  name."     Judges  xiii.  3 — 6. 

Here  we  see  that  the  angels,  on  such  occasions, 
appeared  in  a  perfectly  human  form,  so  as  to  be 
taken  for  mortal  men ;  but  there  was  that  in  their 
countenances — probably  the  emanation  of  minds  per- 
fectly holy,  obedient,  and  faithful,  and  habitually  en- 
gaged in  the  contemplation  of  the  Deity — which,  to  the 
corrupt  nature  of  fallen  man,  appeared  "  very  terri- 
ble." To  such  "  beauty  of  holiness  "  had  the  counte- 
nance of  Moses  attained,  while  wholly  separated  from 
earth,  and  the  grosser  elements  of  man's  ordinary  sus- 
tenance, having  "  seen  God"  for  forty  successive  days 
on  the  mount.  So,  likewise,  shone  the  face  of  Ste- 
phen, on  the  very  verge  of  that  martyrdom  which  was 
peculiarly  honoured  in  being  the  first  under  the  Chris- 
tian dispensation.  The  woman  does  not  appear  to 
have  taken  the  angel  for  more  than  what  she  called 
him,  "A  man  of  God;"  a  prophet;  and  the  expres- 
sion that  she  used  in  describing  the  majesty  and 
brightness  of  his  aspect  was  not  an  unfrequent  one,  in 
days  when  angelic  faces  were  not  so  strange  upon 
earth  as  now  they  are.  We,  probably,  associate 
no  idea  of  terribleness  with  that  trite  expression,  "an 
angelic  countenance;"  we  know  not,  alas  !  what  man 
has  lost,  even  in  outward  show,  by  revolting  from  his 
God. 

Manoah's  wife  went  on  to  repeat  exactly  what  the 
angel  had  said  :  "Then  Manoah  entreated  the  Lord, 


ANGELIC    MINISTRY.  177 

and  said,  O  my  Lord,  let  the  man  of  God  which  thou 
didst  send  come  again  unto  us,  and  teach  us  what  we 
shall  do  unto  the  child  that  shall  be  born."  A  beau- 
tiful instance  of  simple  faith !  He  makes  no  question 
of  the  matter,  refers  it  all  to  God,  and  speaks  of  the 
child,  which  as  yet  existed  but  in  the  divine  premise, 
as  though  it  was  even  then  about  to  be  bora.  We 
may  safely  assert  that  Manoah  was  a  man  of  prayer, 
who  thus  calmly,  thankfully  received  the  answer,  to 
his  accustomed  supplications.  The  lovely  and  in- 
structive history  proceeds :  "  And  God  hearkened  to 
the  voice  of  Manoah ;  and  the  angel  of  God  came 
again  unto  the  woman  as  she  sat  in  the  field :  but  -Ma- 
noah her  husband  was  not  with  her.  And  the  wo- 
man made  haste,  and  ran,  and  showed  her  husband, 
and  said  unto  him,  Behold,  the  man  hath  appeared 
unto  me,  that  came  unto  me  the  other  day.  And  Ma- 
noah arose,  and  went  after  his  wife,  and  came  to  the 
man,  and  said  unto  him,  Art  thou  the  man  that  spakest 
unto  the  woman  ?  And  he  said,  I  am.  And  Manoah 
said,  Xow,  let  thy  words  come  to  pass !  How  shall 
we  order  the  child,  and  how  shall  we  do  unto  him  ? 
And  the  angel  of  the  Lord  said  unto  Manoah,  Of  all 
that  I  have  said  unto  the  woman,  let  her  beware.  She 
may  not  eat  of  any  thing  that  cometh  of  the  vine, 
neither  let  her  drink  wine  or  strong  drink,  nor  eat  any 
unclean  thing:  all  that  I  command  her,  let  her  ob- 
serve. And  Manoah  said  unto  the  angel  of  the  Lord, 
I  pray  thee,  let  us  detain  thee,  until  we  shall  have 
made  ready  a  kid  for  thee.  And  the  angel  of  the 
Lord   said  unto  Manoah,  Though  thou  detain  me,  I 


178  OF    THE    HOLY    ANGELS: 

will  not  eat  of  thy  bread :  and  if  thou  wilt  offer  a  burnt 
offering,  thou  must  offer  it  unto  the  Lord.  For  Ma- 
noah  knew  not  that  he  was  an  angel  of  the  Lord.  And 
Manoah  said  unto  the  angel  of  the  Lord,  What  is  thy 
name,  that  when  thy  sayings  come  to  pass  we  may  do 
thee  honour?"  It  is  impossible  to  pass  over  this 
grateful,  and  doubtless  patriotic  sentiment,  for  Manoah 
would  have  proclaimed  that  there  was  a  prophet  in 
Israel,  and  have  sent  his  oppressed,  afflicted,  guilty 
countrymen  to  inquire  of  the  Lord  at  his  mouth. 
There  is  a  nobleness  in  the  language  of  this  Israelitish 
pair  the  more  striking  from  the  simplicity  and  humili- 
ty that  accompany  it.  His  request  was  not  granted. 
"  The  angel  of  the  Lord  said  unto  him,  Why  asketh 
thou  thus  after  my  name,  seeing  it  is  secret?"  The 
margin  reads,  Wonderful :  and  because  "  Wonderful  " 
is  one  of  the  names  by  which  our  blessed  Lord  is 
called,  some  have  assured  themselves  that  it  was  Christ 
himself  who  spake.  We  see  no  ground  whatever  for 
the  assumption ;  the  angel  Gabriel  announced  to  Za- 
charias  the  promised  birth  of  a  son  in  his  old  age  ;  one 
far  greater  than  Samson  ;  and  he  too  was  sent  to  Ma- 
ry with  tidings  infinitely  more  important  than  either : 
it  is  surely,  therefore,  too  much  to  catch  at  a  single, 
doubtful  word,  to  introduce  the  Lord  of  angels  on  such 
an  occasion  as  this.  Considering  how  prone  the  Is- 
raelites at  that  time  were  to  idolatry,  the  very  reason 
of  Manoah's  question  was  sufficient  to  prevent  his  ob- 
taining an  answer.  The  holy  angel  would  not  give 
his  name  to  be  enrolled  among  the  new  gods  of  Israel. 
"  So  Manoah  took  a  kid  with  a  meat-offering,  and  of- 


ANGELIC    MINISTRY.  179 

fered  it  upon  the  rock  unto  the  Lord  ;  and  the  angel 
did  wondrously  ;  and  Manoah  and  his  wife  looked  on. 
For  it  came  to  pass,  when  the  flame  went  up  toward 
heaven  from  off  the  altar,  that  the  angel  of  the  Lord 
ascended  in  the  flame  of  the  altar.  And  Manoah  and 
his  wife  looked  on  it,  and  fell  on  their  faces  to  the 
ground.  But  the  angel  of  the  Lord  did  no  more  ap- 
pear to  Manoah  and  to  his  wife.  Then  Manoah  knew 
that  he  was  an  angel  of  the  Lord.  And  Manoah  said 
unto  his  wife,  We  shall  surely  die,  because  we  have 
seen  God."  The  greatness  of  the  miracle,  and  his 
surprise  at  discovering  the  celestial  character  of  the 
Being  with  whom  he  had  so  familiarly  conversed? 
were  such  that  he  went  beyond  the  mark,  as  he  had 
before  fallen  short  of  it,  and  imagined  that  he  had,  in- 
stead of  a  mere  prophet,  seen  Him  whom  none  can 
look  upon  and  live.  His  wife's  encouraging  reply  is 
admirable :  "  If  the  Lord  were  pleased  to  kill  us,  he 
would  not  have  received  a  burnt-offering  and  a  meat- 
offering at  our  hands,  neither  would  he  have  shown  us 
all  these  things,  nor  would  as  at  this  time  have  told 
us  such  things  as  these."  Verse  23.  They  would 
not  have  received  instructions  as  to  the  bringing  up  of 
a  child  yet  unborn,  if  their  own  lives  were  about  to 
terminate  ;  nor  could  it  be  in  wrath  that  the  Lord  had 
made  known  to  them  purposes  so  gracious  towards 
themselves,  and  towards  the  whole  nation  who  were 
to  have  a  deliverer  in  their  offspring,  whose  birth  and 
destiny  were  probably  thus  intimated  in  order  to 
impress  men's  minds  more  deeply  with  the  assurance 
that  the  promised  deliverance  was  wholly  of  the  Lord. 


ANGELIC  SYMPATHY. 

Under  this  head  may  properly  be  classed  those  pecu- 
liar ministrations  that  had  reference  to  the  prophets  of 
Israel,  from  Elijah  onward  ;  and,  following  the  order 
in  which  they  stand  in  the  Bible,  in  preference  to  the 
chronological  dates,  we  will  briefly  note  them  all.  It 
will  be  remembered  that  the  angel  who  showed  the 
Apostle  John  the  glorious  things  by  him  recorded,  de- 
clared, "  I  am  thy  fellow-servant  and  of  thy  brethren 
the  prophets  ;  and  of  them  which  keep  the  sayings  of 
this  book  :"  (Rev.  xxii.  9  :)  from  which  we  may  at 
least  gather,  that  the  interest  taken  by  that  heavenly 
guide  in  these  wondrous  revelations,  was  intense. 
When,  therefore,  an  angel  is  deputed  to  communicate 
with  an  inspired  prophet,  we  feel  that  there  is  some- 
what more  than  a  general  ministration  in  it ;  the  divine 
knowledge  which  the  celestial  being  is  commissioned 
to  impart  to  his  earth-born  brother  fills  his  own  mind, 
and  he  appreciates  the  high  distinction  conferred  on 


ANGELIC    SYMPATHY.  181 

himself,  as  the  vessel  chosen  to  contain  and  to  convey 
a  treasure  of  which  all  the  excellency  is  of  God.  The 
glory  of  its  Master  is  concerned  in  what  he  commu- 
nicates ;  its  prospective  fulfilment  interests  him  deeply, 
as  tending  to  show  forth  the  Lord's  faithfulness ;  and 
arrayed  as  he  perpetually  is  against  the  dark,  subtle 
enemies  of  man,  he  rejoices  in  every  accession  of 
strength,  wisdom  and  knowledge  gained  by  his  poor, 
feeble  ally.  To  one  who  is  accustomed  to  dwell  upon 
those  beautiful  portions  of  Scripture,  the  tenderness  that 
bespeaks  perfect  sympathy  is  constantly  apparent  on 
the  angel's  part ;  together  with  an  alacrity  that  shows 
how  much  heart  the  divine  creature  puts  into  his  work. 
First  among  those  we  have  now  to  notice,  stands  the 
touching  picture  of  Elijah,  weary,  exhausted  and  well- 
nigh  despairing,  in  the  wilderness.  He  had  been  very 
jealous  for  the  Lord  God  of  Hosts,  even  to  the  braving 
of  Ahab's  power  and  Jezebel's  hate.  He  had  openly 
defied,  most  signally  disgraced,  and  with  determined 
justice  had  slain  the  four  hundred  and  fifty  prophets 
of  Baal  in  the  sight  of  all  Israel ;  whom  he  believed 
to  be,  with  the  single  exception  of  himself,  forsakers  of 
God's  covenant,  destroyers  of  his  worship,  and  mur- 
derers of  his  prophets.  Throughout  this  transcendent 
work  of  faith  and  zeal  he  had  not  flinched ;  but  now 
pursued  by  the  sanguinary  menaces  of  Jezebel,  and 
believing  that  every  man  sought  his  life,  the  solitary 
outcast  stretched  himself  under  a  juniper-tree,  and,  ask- 
ing for  death,  became  overpowered  by  sleep.  With  what 
pitying  tenderness  must  the  angel's  heart  have  yearn- 
ed over  the  unconscious  slumberer,  while  employed  in 
16 


182  OF    THE    HOLY    ANGELS  .* 

the  humble  office  of  baking  a  cake  on  the  coals,  and 
filling  a  cruse  with  water  to  place  beside  him  !  What 
a  spectacle  of  want,  and  sorrow,  and  destitution,  did 
the  prophet  present,  immediately  after  that  glorious 
display  of  triumphant  faith  and  power  on  the  sides  of 
Mount  Carmel  !  When  all  was  prepared,  "  the  angel 
touched  him,  and  said,  Arise  and  eat."  1  Kings  xix. 
5.  Having  done  so,  the  prophet  again  laid  down,  and 
slept :  "  And  the  angel  of  the  Lord  came  again  the 
second  time,  and  touched  him,  and  said,  Arise  and  eat; 
because  the  journey  is  too  great  for  thee."  He  not 
only  sets  before  him  the  nourishment  provided,  but  gra- 
ciously and  tenderly  urges  on  him  the  necessity  of 
strengthening  himself  for  the  unusual  exertion.  Often 
have  the  afflicted  children  of  God  found  comfort  in  this 
sweet  record  of  his  watchful  care,  and  of  the  willing 
service  that  the  holy  angels  render,  when  no  human 
hand  can  help.  When,  under  the  pressure  of  bodily 
privation  or  mental  anxiety  they  are  hearkening  to  the 
suggestions  of  Satan,  and  murmuring  to,  if  not  against 
the  Lord,  some  ministering  angel  is  on  the  wing,  bear- 
ing the  succour  they  need,  the  comfort  they  pine  for ; 
and  putting  to  shame  the  language  of  their  unbelieving 
minds. 

Elijah,  we  are  told,  U  went  in  the  strength  of  that 
meat  forty  days  and  forty  nights,  unto  Horeb,  the 
Mount  of  God."  1  Kings  xix.  8.  Whether  that  day's 
repast  was  made  sufficient  for  the  whole  period,  or 
whether  his  strength  was  daily  renewed  by  a  mira- 
culous supply  of  bread  and  Mater,  like  that  of  his 
fathers  in  the  wilderness,  is  not  made  plain :  in  either 


ANGELIC    SYMPATHY.  183 

case,  the  Lord  fed  him  by  the  haad  of  a  ministering 
spirit,  and  he  whom  God  fed  could  know  no  want :  he 
whom  God  strengthened,  no  weariness.  He  fulfilled 
his  mission,  not  without  further  communion  with  an- 
gelic helpers  ;  for  though,  in  general,  the  expression  is, 
"  the  word  of  the  Lord  came  to  Elijah,"  without  spe- 
cifying the  medium  through  which  it  reached  him,  we 
are  told  when  Ahaziah  sent  to  inquire  of  Baalzebub, 
the  god  of  Ekron,  concerning  the  event  of  his  disease, 
"  the  angel  of  the  Lord  said  to  Elijah  the  Tishbite — 
Arise,  go  up  to  meet  the  messengers  of  the  king  of  Sa- 
maria," and  told  him  the  prophetic  words  that  he 
should  speak  to  them.  2  Kings  i.  3,  4. 

Elijah's  translation  into  heaven  was  by  "a  chariot 
of  fire,  and  horses  of  fire,"  no  doubt  forming  a  part  of 
the  magnificent  array  of  which  we  are  next  to  speak 
as  belonging  to  the  armament  of  heaven  :  for  when  the 
servant  of  Elisha,  terrified  at  the  sight  of  the  besieging 
host  o^  Syria  compassing  the  city,  cried  out,  "  Alas,  my 
master !  how  shall  we  do  ?"  the  prophet's  answer  was, 
"  Fear  not ;  for  they  that  be  with  us  are  more  than  they 
that  be  with  them."  In  answer  to  his  prayer,  the  young 
man's  eyes  were  opened  ;  "  and  he  saw  ;  and  behold 
the  mountain  was  full  of  horses  and  chariots  of  fire 
round  about  Elisha."  2  Kings  vi.  15 — 17.  Angels 
are  not  mentioned  here ;  but  however  the  blaze  of  the 
glory  might  enwrap,  and  so  render  them  invisible,  we 
may  be  sure  it  was  not  of  chariots  and  horses  that 
Elisha  spoke  when  alluding  to  the  number  of  his  un- 
seen allies.    We  may  rather  suppose  the  scene  to  have 


184  OF  THE    HOLY   ANGELS  I 

resembled  what  is.  very  glowingly  described  by  a  first- 
rate  poet  of  our  day,  in  referring  to  this  passage : 

At  the  word  rushed  a  cloud 

From  the  crown  of  the  sky  : 
In  its  splendours  the  sun 
•      Seemed  to  sicken  and  die. 
From  its  depths  poured  a  host 

Upon  mountain  and  plain. 
There  was  seen  the  starred  helm. 

And  the  sky-tinctured  vane ; 
And  the  armour  of  fire, 

And  the  seraph's  broad  wing ; 
But  no  eye -ball  dared  gaze 
On  the  pomp  of  the  blaze, 
As  their  banner  unfolded 

The  name  of  their  King. 

After  Elisha,  Isaiah  had  proof  of  the  being,  the 
brightness,  and  the  benevolence  of  God's  angels.  He 
has  related  a  very  remarkable  vision:  "In  the  year 
that  king  Uzziah  died,  I  saw  the  Lord  sitting  upon  a 
throne,  high  and  lifted  up,  and  his  train  filled  the  tem- 
ple. Above  it  stood  the  seraphim :  each  had  six 
wings  !  with  twain  he  covered  his  face,  and  with  twain 
he  covered  his  feet,  and  with  twain  he  did  fly.  And 
one  cried  unto  another,  and  said,  Holy,  holy,  holy  is 
the  Lord  of  hosts:  the  whole  earth  is  full  of  his  glory. 
And  the  posts  of  the  door  moved  at  the  voice  of  him 
that  cried,  and  the  house  was  filled  with  smoke.  Then 
said  I,  wo  is  me  !  for  I  am  undone  ;  because  I  am  a 
man  of  unclean  lips :  and  I  dwell  in  the  midst  of  a 


ANGELIC    SYMPATHY.  185 

people  of  unclean  lips  :  for  mine  eyes  have  seen  the 
King,  the  Lord  of  hosts.  Then  flew  one  of  the  sera- 
phim unto  me,  having  a  live  coal  in  his  hand,  which 
he  had  taken  with  the  tongs  from  off  the  altar ;  and 
he  laid  it  upon  my  mouth,  and  said,  Lo,  this  hath 
touched  thy  lips;  and  thine  iniquity  is  taken  away, 
and  thy  sin  purged."  Isaiah  vi.  1 — 7. 

This  sublime  vision  was  the  preparation  for  that  won- 
derful strain  of  prophecy  which  has  caused  some,  not 
inaptly,  to  term  Isaiah  the  fifth  evangelist.  It  was 
Christ's  glory  that  he  saw,  and  it  was  of  him  that  he 
spake — (John  xii.  41  ;)  and  this  bright  company  of  the 
seraphim  were  veiling  their  faces  with  awe  before  Him 
who  was  despised  and  rejected  of  men.  In  the  midst 
of  their  solemn  alternate  song  of  adoration,  the  voice 
of  a  conscience-stricken  man  was  heard,  bewailing  his 
sinfulness,  and  lamenting  over  his  undone  estate,  the 
uncleanness  of  his  lips,  and  the  guilt  of  his  people. 
Immediately  a  seraph  is  commissioned  to  remove  his 
grief;  and  he,  with  the  earnest  alacrity  that  we  have 
remarked,  flies  to  the  distressed  seer,  bearing  not  only 
a  message,  but  a  token  of  reconciling,  sanctifying 
grace,  repeating  the  impressive  assurance,  "  thine 
iniquity  is  taken  away,  and  thy  sin  purged."  It  ap- 
pears to  have  been  in  the  material  temple  in  Jerusalem, 
that  this  revelation  was  made ;  but  it  is  very  remarka- 
ble how  much  the  temple  imagery  prevails  in  repre- 
sentations of  heaven  itself ;  even  in  the  descriptions 
given  by  John,  who  wrote  in  an  especial  manner  for 
Gentile  churches.  In  this  vision  of  Isaiah,  He  was 
present  who  gives  substance  to  the  shadow,  efficacy  to 
16* 


186  OF   THE   HOLY   ANGELS : 

the  means ;  and  a  coal  from  off  the  altar  was  used, 
typical  at  once  of  the  purifying  influences  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  of  the  flaming  zeal  that  should  burst  forth 
in  strains  of  glowing  eloquence  from  the  prophet's  now- 
consecrated  lip.  This  is  the  only  place  in  the  Bible 
where  our  translators  have  introduced  the  word  sera- 
phim. 

We  next  come  to  the  mysterious  revelations  made 
to  Ezekiel,  who  uses  the  appellation  "  cherubim,"  in 
describing   the    heavenly   beings  whom    he  saw.     It 
seems,  so  far  as  our  dim  faculties  may  penetrate  the 
mysterious  veil,  as  though  these  were  a  peculiar  order 
of  angelic  creatures.     The  title  is  constantly  given  to 
those  appearances  which  the  Lord  instructed  Moses  to 
place  at  each  end  of  the  ark  of  the  testament,  over  the 
mercy-seat  of  which  they  extended  their  wings ;  and 
who  are  nowhere  called  by  the  general  term  of  angels. 
Their  station,  we  may  venture  to  think,  is  one  of  more 
immediate  proximity  to  the  throne  of  glory  than  that 
of  others ;  both  from  the  position  assigned  to  them  in 
the  material  temple,  which  we  are  told  was  a  figure  of 
the  true,  or  heavenly  house  of  God,  and  from  the  de- 
scriptions given  by  Ezekiel.      Cherubim    also  were 
placed  at  the  gate  of  the  garden  of  Eden,  to  wield  the 
terrible  sword  of  flame  which  barred  all  approach ; 
keeping  the  way  to  the  tree  of  life.     It  is  a  most  in- 
viting field  for  the  imagination  to  rove  in,  these  glimpses 
of  the  heavenly  territory,  and  its  angelic  inhabitants ; 
but  imagination  must  not  enter  where  we  are  humbly 
following  the  footsteps  of  inspiration,  to  speak  accord- 
ing to  the  word  of  the  Lord,  neither  more  nor  less ; 


ANGELIC    SYMPATHY.  187 

and  we  must  be  content  to  believe,  without  expecting 
fully  to  understand,  what  the  prophet  was  enabled  to 
convey  of  his  own  impression  of  those  things  which  he 
beheld ;  so  far,  at  least,  as  he  makes  distinct  mention 
of  beings  whom  we  are  taught  to  consider  as  a  part  of 
the  armies  of  heaven.  Whether  or  not,  these  appear, 
ances  were  real ;  whether  the  angels  are  immaterial,  in- 
visible essences,  and  therefore  impossible  to  be  seen  by 
us  in  their  natural  state,  and  only  clothed  in  the  sem- 
blance of  something  tangible  for  occasional  revelation 
to  man,  or  whether  the  weakness  of  our  powers,  denied 
and  debilitated  by  original  guilt,  shuts  them  out  from 
our  mortal  ken,  is  a  point  that  never  will  be  fully 
cleared  up  until  we  come  to  know  even  as  we  are 
known  ;  but  there  is  quite  as  much  to  be  said  for  the 
latter  as  for  the  former  proposition,  although  the  weight 
of  names  is  certainly  against  us  ;  men  having  inherited 
the  opinions  of  their  predecessors  as  a  matter  of  course, 
and  battled  for  all  as  belonging  to  them  by  rightful  de- 
scent. By  such  means  have  successive  generations  been 
blinded  to  the  meaning  of  many  a  rich  promise  and 
glorious  prediction  now  on  the  eve  of  fulfilment ;  and 
the  consequence  of  such  mistaken  impressions  is  but 
too  likely  to  be  that  complained  of  by  the  prophet : — 
"  Lord,  when  thine  arm  is  stretched  out,  they  will  not 
see  !"  Most  ingenious  explanations  have  been  affixed 
by  various  commentators  to  the  minute  particulars  re- 
corded by  Ezekiel  of  the  visions  that  he  beheld ;  but 
with  these  we  have  nothing  to  do ;  our  business  being 
with  the  literal  descriptions. 

Ezekiel,  being  among  the  captive  Jews  carried  into 
Babylon,  was  commissioned  to  bear  to  them  many  re- 


188  OF    THE   HOLY   ANGELS : 

bukes  and  remonstrances,  mingled  with  most  glorious 
promises,  from  the  Lord.  In  his  first  chapter,  he  gives 
a  full  account  of  the  appearance  that  he  beheld  ;  which 
is  thus  introduced  : — "  A  whirlwind  came  out  of  the 
north,  a  great  cloud,  and  a  fire  unfolding  itself,  and  a 
brightness  was  about  it,  and  out  of  the  midst  thereof  as 
the  colour  dl*  amber,  out  of  the  midst  of  the  fire.  Also 
out  of  the  midst  thereof  came  the  likeness  of  four  living 
creatures.  And  this  was  their  appearance  ;  they  had 
the  likeness  of  a  man."  He  proceeds  to  describe  the 
four  faces,  four  wings,  and  other  peculiarities  of  these 
living  creatures,  who,  he  says,  "  ran  and  returned  as 
the  appearance  of  a  flash  of  lightning  ;"  and  of  the  im- 
mense wheels  that  were  beside  them ;  the  crystal  firma- 
ment that  was  directly  over  their  heads,  and  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  sapphire  throne  placed  above  all,  "  and 
upon  the  likeness  of  the  throne  was  the  likeness  as 
the  appearance  of  a  man  above  upon  it."  From  the 
Lord,  whose  glory  he  thus  beheld,  he  received  a  mes- 
sage to  his  people,  the  children  of  the  captivity  :  and  hav- 
ing thus  given  an  outline  of  that  which  he  beheld,  the 
brightness  of  the  objects  being  so  dazzling  that  he 
could  but  speak  of  "  the  likeness  of  the  appearance  " 
as  it  then  impressed  his  mind,  he  records  in  his  eighth 
chapter  a  farther  revelation  made  to  him  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  same  mysterious  glory,  when  he  was  taken 
to  behold  the  various  idolatrous  abominations  practised 
in  Jerusalem  to  provoke  the  Lord,  and  shown  also  the 
terrible  judgments  about  to  fall  upon  the  offenders.  An 
angel,  described  as  "a  man  clothed  with  linen,  having 
a  writer's  inkhorn  by  his  side,"  is  sent  through  the 
city,  to  set  a  mark  upon  the  foreheads  of  the  men  who 


ANGELIC    SYMPATHY.  189 

sighed  and  cried  for  the  abominations  that  were  done  ; 
and  six  others,  each  with  a  slaughtering  weapon  in  his 
hand,  then  proceeded  to  slay  all  who  were  not  so 
marked,  beginning  at  the  sanctuary.  This  being  done, 
and  reported  by  the  man  in  the  linen  garment  to  Him 
who  sat  on  the  throne,  "  he  spake  unto  the  man  clothed 
with  linen,  and  said,  Go  in  between  the  wheels,  even 
under  the  cherub,  and  fill  thine  hand  with  coals  of  fire 
from  between  the  cherubim,  and  scatter  them  over 
the  city.  And  he  went  in  my  sight.  Now  the  cheru- 
bim stood  on  the  right  side  of  the  house,  when  the 
man  went  in  ;  and  the  cloud  filled  the  inner  court, 
Then  the  glory  of  the  Lord  went  up  from  the  cherub, 
and  stood  over  the  threshold  of  the  house  ;  and  the 
house  was  filled  with  the  cloud,  and  the  court  was  full 
of  the  brightness  of  the  Lord's  glory.  And  the  sound 
of  the  cherubim's  wings  was  heard  even  in  the  outer 
court,  as  the  voice  of  the  almighty  God  when  he  speak- 
eth.  And  it  came  to  pass  that  when  he  had  com- 
manded the  man  clothed  with  linen,  saying,  Take  fire 
from  between  the  wheels,  from  between  the  cherubim, 
then  he  went  in  and  stood  beside  the  wheels.  And 
one  cherub  stretched  forth  his  hand  from  between  the 
cherubim  unto  the  fire  that  was  between  the  cheru- 
bim, and  took  thereof,  and  put  it  into  the  hands  of  him 
that  was  clothed  with  linen ;  who  took  it,  and  went 
out."  x.  2 — 7.  The  conclusion  of  the  vision  is  thus 
related :  "  Then  the  glory  of  the  Lord  departed  from 
off  the  threshold  of  the  house,  and  stood  over  the 
cherubim  :  and  the  cherubim  lifted  up  their  wings, 
and  mounted  up  from  the  earth  in  my  sight :  when 


190  OF   THE    HOLY   ANGELS : 

they  went  out,  the  wheels  also  were  beside  them  :  and 
every  one  stood  at  the  door  of  the  east  gate  of  the  Lord's 
house :  and  the  glory  of  Israel  was  over  them  above.''" 
(verses  18,  19.) 

The  word  cherubim  signifies  flaming  ones  ;  and  we 
find  either  flame  or  its  concomitant,  a  cloud  of  smoke, 
generally  present,  when  the  Lord  was  pleased  to  man- 
ifest himself,  under  the  Old  Testament,  either  in  the 
temple  or  to  his  people  apart  from  it ;  we  are  also  told 
that  the  second  coming  of  our  Lord  in  great  glory,  ac- 
companied with  the  holy  angels,  shall  be  in  "  flaming 
fire."  We  have  just  enough  information  respecting 
this  order  of  the  celestial  servants  of  our  God  to  believe 
that  they  have  some  special  office  of  peculiar  attend- 
ance on  their  King.  David  says,  "  He  rode  upon  a 
cherub,  and  did  fly,"  (Psalm  xviii.  10;)  and  again — 
"  The  chariots  of  God  are  twenty  thousand,  even  thou- 
sands of  angels  :  the  Lord  is  among  them,  as  in  Sinai, 
in  the  holy  place."  Psalm  lxviii.  17.  We  may  com- 
pare such  expressions  with  the  chariots  and  horses  of 
fire  seen  by  Elisha's  servant,  and  that  which  took  up 
Elijah  into  heaven ;  and  without  intruding  improperly 
into  things  not  seen,  we  may  be  allowed  to  believe 
that  glimpses  have  been  given*  into  realities  hereafter 
to  be  fully  known  and  understood,  while  the  assurance 
that  such  glorious  intelligences  do  exist,  and  in  great 
multitudes  surround  us,  fulfilling  each  the  will  and 
rendering  prompt  service  to  their  Master  and  ours,  is 
most  soothing  to  the  child  of  earth  who,  exiled  from  the 
bright  company  of  sinless  beings,  pursues  his  way  in 
loneliness  of  spirit,  often  feeling  as  though  throughout 


ANGELIC  SYMPATHY.  191 

the  wide  creation  there  was  no  being  to  sympathise 
with  him  now,  though  he  may  look  forward  to  such 
communion  hereafter  as  disembodied  spirits  can  to- 
gether enjoy. 

Ezekiel  had  another  vision,  in  which  an  angel 
showed  him  marvelous  things  :  things  that  to  this  day 
are  unfulfilled,  and  concerning  which  the  church  re- 
mains in  greater  perplexity  than  in  almost  any  other 
prophetic  matter.  Having  been  brought  in  the  visions 
of  God  to  a  very  high  mountain  in  the  land  of  Israel, 
he  says,  "  there  was  a  man  whose  appearance  was  like 
the  appearance  of  brass,  with  a  line  of  flax  in  his  hand, 
and  a  measuring  reed."  Ezek.  xl.  3.  This  divine 
messenger  measures  out  and  describes  to  the  prophet 
with  most  minute  exactness,  a  city  and  a  temple  of 
which  we  as  yet  know  nothing  ;  but  it  is  a  marvelous 
instance  of  prediction  and  direction,  continued  through 
no  fewer  than  eight  chapters,  by  the  means  of  this  an- 
gelic instructor,  who  almost  appears  identical  with  the 
angel  described  by  St.  John,  as  employed  in  like  man- 
ner for  his  instruction. 

We  now  arrive  at  that  lovely  portion  of  Scripture, 
the  book  of  Daniel,  and  may  trace  more  *t  large  what 
has  already  been  repeatedly  noticed.  Daniel  was 
greatly  favoured  by  direct  revelations  from  the  Lord  : 
the  king's  dream  and  its  interpretation  were  made 
known  to  him,  to  the  conversion,  as  we  may  hope,  of 
the  once  proud  and  blood-thirsty  tyrant,  Nebuchad- 
nezzar. In  like  manner,  he  was  enabled  to  show  forth 
to  the  miserable  Belshazzar  his  coming  doom,  with  the 
downfall  of  great  Babylon,  the  vivid  prototype  of  that 


192  OF    THE    HOLY    ANGELS : 

idolatrous  harlot-city,  Rome,  which  in  our  day  rules 
and  riots,  and  ripens  for  sudden  destruction.  Under 
Darius,  the  prophet  again  enjoyed  such  favour,  influ- 
ence and  command,  as  moved  to  envy  the  selfish 
princes  of  the  kingdom.  They  sought  occasion,  but 
found  none,  to  carry  an  unfavourable  report  against 
him,  to  his  royal  patron :  and  at  length  they  were 
driven  to  the  expedient  of  inventing  an  offence,  that 
Daniel  was  sure  to  commit,  by  making  it  penal  to  pray 
to  the  God  of  heaven.  The  device  succeeded:  Daniel 
prayed  repeatedly  and  without  disguise  ;  and  a  few 
hours  saw  him  cast  into  a  den,  where  hungry  lions 
were  impatiently  awaiting  their  accustomed  meal. 
We  are  not  introduced  to  that  scene  of  peril,  of  dark- 
ness, and  of  horror — the  noisome  abode  of  ferocious 
beasts  of  prey ;  strewed  with  the  splintered  bones  of 
the  many  human  victims  that  Babylonish  cruelty  de- 
lighted, even  as  its  antitype  delights,  to  prepare  for 
barbarous  slaughter.  We  only  know,  that  after  re- 
maining there  during  the  night,  the  faithful  servant  of 
the  Lord  was  able  to  answer  the  king's  sorrowful  in- 
quiry, by  saying,  "  My  God  hath  sent  his  angel,  and 
hath  shut  the  lions'  mouths,  that  they  have  not  hurt 
me."  Dan.  vi.  22.  He  had  other  company  than  the 
ravenous  beasts,  who  were  thus  chained  back  into  the 
innocuous  character  that  they  bore  in  the  garden  of 
Eden,  and  to  which  they  shall  again  be  restored,  when 
the  Conqueror  of  sin  and  of  death  comes  to  reign  over  a 
renovated  earth.  The  darkness  of  the  dungeon  was 
no  doubt  chased  away  by  the  same  "  bright  light " 
that  shone  around  Peter  in  his  prison ;  and  angelic  con- 


ANGELIC    SYMPATHY.  193 

verse  cheered  the  hours,  while  the  noble  beasts  were 
crouching  around,  unconscious  whence  arose  the  calm, 
under  the  influence  of  which  their  ferocious  feelings 
were  so  lulled  that  a  lamb  might  have  lain  down 
among  them  in  safety.  The  angel  had  doubtless  power 
to  intimidate,  and  forcibly  to  restrain  the  ravenous 
beasts  ;  or  the  terribleness  of  his  aspect  might  have 
awed  them  into  trembling  submission :  but  it  is  more 
consistent  with  the  loving,  compassionate  disposition 
of  an  angel,  when  dealing  with  those  who  are  not  at 
enmity  with  God,  to  use  gentleness,  and  to  bring 
peace. 

But  it  was  in  the  course  of  his  prophetic  visions 
that  Daniel  has  related  the  fulness  of  angelic  commu- 
nication repeatedly  made  to  him.  These  visions,  in 
point  of  time,  preceded  his  deliverance  from  the  lions  ; 
the  first  being  in  the  first  year  of  Belshazzar.  Here, 
the  rise  of  the  little  horn,  the  Papacy,  was  revealed ; 
and  its  final  destruction  is  thus  awfully  described.  "  I 
beheld  till  the  thrones  were  cast  down,  and  the  Ancient 
of  Days  did  sit,  whose  garment  was  white  as  snow,  and 
the  hair  of  his  head  like  the  pure  wool :  his  throne  was 
like  the  fiery  flame,  and  his  wheels  as  burning  fire. 
A  fiery  stream  issued,  and  came  forth  from  before  him  : 
thousand  thousands  ministered  unto  him,  and  ten  thou- 
sand times  ten  thousand  stood  before  him :  the  judg- 
ment was  set,  and  the  books  were  opened.  I  beheld 
then  because  of  the  voice  of  the  great  words  which  the 
horn  spake  ;  I  beheld  even  till  the  beast  was  slain,  and 
his  body  destroyed,  and  given  to  the  burning  flame." 
Dan.  vii.  9 — 11.  Troubled  and  grieved  at  the  myste- 
17 


194  OF   THE    HOLY   ANGELS : 

riousness  of  these  fearful  things,  the  prophet  "  came 
near  unto  one  of  them  that  stood  by,  and  asked  him 
the  truth  of  all  this,"  (verse  16,)  and  he  received  an 
interpretation,  distinct  and  full,  setting  forth  the  grand 
outline  of  this  world's  history,  until  the  glorious  termi- 
nation, when  "the  kingdom  and  dominion,  and  the 
greatness  of  the  kingdom  under  the  whole  heaven, 
shall  be  given  to  the  people  of  the  saints  of  the  Most 
High  ;  whose  kingdom  is  an  everlasting  kingdom,  and 
all  dominions  shall  serve  and  obey  him."  Verse  27. 
Whether  the  interpreter  in  this  instance  was  the  same 
who  afterwards  became  his  teacher,  Daniel  does  not 
say  ;  but  when  at  the  end  of  two  years  another  vision 
appeared,  he  says,  "  It  came  to  pass  when  I,  even  I 
Daniel,  had  seen  the  vision,  and  sought  for  the  mean- 
ing, then,  behold  there  stood  before  me  as  the  appear- 
ance of  a  man.  And  I  heard  a  man's  voice,  between 
the  banks  of  Ulai,  which  called  and  said,  Gabriel, 
make  this  man  to  understand  the  vision.  So  he  came 
near  where  I  stood  ;  and  when  he  came,  I  was  afraid, 
and  fell  upon  my  face :  but  he  said  unto  me,  Under- 
stand, O  son  of  man  ;  for  at  the  end  of  the  time  shall 
be  the  vision."  (viii.  15 — 17.)  This  is  the  first  time 
we  have  mention  made  of  Gabriel,  the  honoured  mes- 
senger of  so  much  mercy  to  man  ;  but  indeed  the  lat- 
ter part  of  the  book  of  Daniel  brings  us  more  in  con- 
tact with  angels  than  any  that  precede  it ;  enabling 
us  to  form,  as  it  were,  an  acquaintance  with  those 
whom  we  humbly  hope  to  associate  with  through  eter- 
nity. 

Some  years  after  this,  when  Darius  had  been  made 


ANGELIC    SYMPATHY.  195 

king  over  Chaldea,  Daniel,  computing  the  time  reveal- 
ed  to  Jeremiah,  found  that  the  restoration  of  his  people 
to  Jerusalem  could  not  be  far  distant,  and  accordingly 
set  himself  to  seek  by  prayer  and  supplications,  with 
fasting,  the  promised  mercy.  He  made  a  touching 
confession  of  sins,  personal  and  national ;  pleaded  the 
cause  of  God's  afflicted  exiles,  and  implored  the  remo- 
val of  his  chastening — the  renewal  of  his  former  love 
to  Israel.  The  prayer  is  one  that  we  cannot  too  gene- 
rally adopt,  in  reference  to  the  present  state  of  the 
Jews,  and  the  sure  word  of  prophecy  which  testifies 
that  their  second  restoration  is  now  drawing  nigh. 
Having  continued  in  this  beautiful  prayer  for  some 
time,  the  prophet  says, — "  And  while  I  was  speaking, 
and  praying,  and  confessing  my  sin  and  the  sin  of  my 
people  Israel,  and  presenting  my  supplications  before 
the  Lord  my  God  for  the  holy  mountain  of  my  God ; 
yea,  while  I  was  speaking  in  prayer,  even  the  man 
Gabriel,  whom  I  had  seen  in  the  vision  at  the  begin- 
ning, being  caused  to  fly  swiftly,  touched  me  about  the 
time  of  the  evening  oblation.  And  he  informed  me, 
and  talked  with  me,  and  said,  O  Daniel,  I  am  now 
come  forth  to  give  'thee  skill  and  understanding."  Dan. 
ix.  20 — 22.  The  sequel  has  already  been  quoted: 
and  the  revelation  made  to  Daniel  is  so  conclusive  as 
to  the  time,  the  object,  and  the  consequences  of  our 
Lord's  first  coming,  that  the  Rabbinical  teachers  to 
this  day  withhold  that  part  of  God's  word  from  their 
peopie,  assured  that  it  must  at  once  enlighten  them  on 
a  subject  where,  being  themselves  in  darkness,  they 
earnestly  desire  to  keep  their  brethren  shrouded  from 


196  OF   THE    HOLY   ANGELS ! 

the  light  of  day.  Three  years  afterwards,  when  Daniel 
again  was  fasting  and  mourning  before  the  Lord,  an- 
other revelation  was  vouchsafed  to  him,  more  full, 
comprehensive,  and  remarkable,  than  any  we  can  point 
out ;  for  it  embraces  a  period  commencing  with  Daniel 's 
time,  and  stretching  out  to  the  end  of  all  things.  The 
vision  which  he  saw  is  very  mysterious  ;  one  of  the 
descriptions  so  closely  resembling  that  which  John 
gives  of  his  glorified  Lord,  that  we  must  pause  to  ap- 
ply it  to  a  created  angel.  "Then  I  lifted  up  mine 
eyes,  and  looked,  and  behold  a  certain  man  clothed  in 
linen,  whose  loins  were  girded  with  fine  gold  of  Uphaz: 
his  body  also  was  like  the  beryl,  and  his  face  as  the 
appearance  of  lightning,  and  his  eyes  as  lamps  of  fire, 
and  his  arms  and  his  feet  like  in  colour  to  polished 
brass,  and  the  voice  of  his  words  like  the  voice  of  a 
multitude."  Dan.  x.  5,  6.  This  vision  was  unseen  by 
Daniel's  companions  ;  "  but  a  great  quaking  fell  upon 
them,  so  that  they  fled  to  hide  themselves."  He  was 
left  alone,  and  fell  into  a  trance :  and  in  this  state, 
"  Behold  a  hand  touched  me,  which  set  me  upon  my 
knees  and  the  palms  of  my  hands.  And  he  said  unto 
me,  O  Daniel,  a  man  greatly  beloved,  understand  the 
words  which  I  speak  unto  thee,  and  stand  upright :  for 
unto  thee  am  I  now  sent.  And  when  he  had  spoken 
this  word  unto  me,  I  stood  trembling."  Dan.  x.  10,  11. 
It  appears  that  there  may  have  been  a  change  of  per- 
sons here :  we  are  not  told  that  the  speaker  was  the 
same  with  him  whose  glorious  appearance  so  over- 
powered a  man  accustomed  to  awful  sights  of  heavenly 
splendour,  and  whose  presence,  though  unseen,  was  so 


ANGELIC    SYMPATHY.  197 

felt  by  his  companions,  as  to  send  them  trembling  to  a 
hiding-place.  This  last  circumstance  has  no  parallel  in 
any  record  of  the  kind ;  for  in  all  other  cases  the  indi- 
viduals were  terrified  only  by  what  they  saw  and  heard. 
We   would,   however,  be  reverently  cautious   in  de- 
ciding a  matter  infinitely  too  high  for  any  child  of  man. 
When  this  last  speaker  had   spoken  farther,  and  told 
him  of  the  opposition  made  by  the  prince  of  the  king- 
dom of  Persia,  and  the  help  given  to  him  by  Michael, 
and  added  that  he  was  about  to  tell  what  should  befall 
the  Jewish  people  in  the  latter  days,  Daniel  says, — 
"  And  when  he  had  spoken  such  words  unto  me,  I  set 
my    face   toward  the   ground,  and  I   became  dumb. 
A.nd  behold,  one  like  the  similitude  of  the  sons  of  men 
touched  my  lips  ;  then  T  opened  my  mouth,  and  spake, 
and  said  unto  him  that  stood  before  me,  O  my  Lord,  by 
the  vision  my  sorrows  are  turned  upon  me,  and  I  have 
retained  no  strength :  for  how  can  the  servant  of  this 
my  Lord  talk  with  this  my  Lord,  for  as  for  me,  straight- 
way there  remained  no  strength  in  me,  neither  is  there 
breath  left  in  me.    Then  there  came  again  and  touched 
me  one  like  the  appearance  of  a  man,  and  he  strength- 
ened me,  and  said,  O  man  greatly  beloved,  fear  not : 
peace  be  unto  thee ;  be  strong,  yea  be  strong."     Dan. 
x.  15 — 19.     It  is  probable  that  this  angel  was  Gabriel 
who  had  used  language    exactly  similar  on  a  former 
occasion,  as  being  sent  to  instruct  him,  the  man  "great- 
ly beloved."     He    proceeds   to   relate  the   wonderful 
things  that  it  pleased  the  Lord  to  reveal  for  the  com- 
fort and  encouragement  no  less  than  for  the  instruc- 
tion of  his  church  ;  and  as  we  are  told,  "  In  the  mouth 
17* 


198  OF    THE    HOLY   ANGELS! 

of  two  or  three  witnesses  shall  everything  be  estab- 
lished." Such  confirmation  was  added  to  the  angel's 
assurance,  "  Then  I  Daniel  looked,  and  behold,  there 
stood  other  two,  the  one  on  this  side  the  bank  of  the 
river,  and  the  other  on  that  side  of  the  bank  of  the  river. 
And  one  said  to  the  man  clothed  in  linen  which  was 
upon  the  waters  of  the  river,  How  long  shall  it  be  to 
the  end  of  these  wonders  ?  And  I  heard  the  man 
clothed  in  linen,  which  was  upon  the  waters  of  the 
river,  when  he  held  up  his  right  hand  and  his  left  hand 
unto  heaven,  and  sware  by  him  that  liveth  forever,  that 
it  shall  be  for  a  time,  times,  and  a  half;  and  when  he 
shall  have  accomplished  to  scatter  the  power  of  the  holy 
people,  all  these  things  shall  be  finished.  And  I  heard, 
but  I  understood  not :  then  said  I,  O  my  Lord,  what 
shall  be  the  end  of  these  things?  And  he  said,  Go 
thy  way,  Daniel:  for  the  words  are  closed  up  and 
sealed  till  the  time  of  the  end."  Dan.  xii.  5 — 9. 

When  we  read  of  things  being  shown  in  a  vision,  we 
are  apt  to  regard  it  as  all  the  imagery  of  a  dream ; 
and  those  who  find  it  difficult  to  realize  to  themselves 
the  actual  existence  of  spiritual  beings,  always  apply 
the  word  vision  as  opposed  to  what  it  actually  imports : 
they  interpret  it  to  mean  not  something  seen,  but  some- 
thing not  seen :  a  mental  phantasmagoria,  unreal,  and 
easily  produced  by  a  disordered  state  of  the  bodily 
functions,  affecting  the  brain.  This,  of  course,  no  be- 
liever can  for  a  moment  venture  upon  connecting  with 
anything  declared  in  Scripture;  but  many  seem  to 
think  that  what  the  inspired  writers  are  described  to 
have  seen  of  angelic  beings,  was  only  a  sort  of  alle- 


ANGELIC    SY3IPATHY.  199 

gorical  representation  ;  a  vehicle  for  conveying  to  their 
minds  certain  impressions  concerning  the  divine  will 
and  purpose.  So  far  from  agreeing  in  these  phantom- 
izing  interpretations,  we  believe  Daniel  to  have  truly 
seen  with  his  bodily  eyes  the  angels  of  God,  even  as 
the  keepers  at  the  sepulchre  and  the  disciples  saw  them 
at  the  Lord's  resurrection;  and  as  we  shall  all  see 
them  when  he  comes  in  the  glory  of  his  Father,  with 
the  holy  angels.  God  can  speak  to  his  servants  with- 
out any  such  intermediate  agency,  as  we  find  in  a 
multitude  of  instances  throughout  the  Scriptures ;  but 
in  some  cases  he  has  seen  fit  to  employ  one  or  more 
of  the  heavenly  host,  and  has  also  commanded  his  wit- 
nesses to  record  it  for  our  instruction.  We  surely  owe 
it  to  our  Divine  Teacher  to  receive  with  thankful  hu- 
mility and  undoubting  credence,  what  he  has  vouch- 
safed thus  to  reveal  to  us  of  the  interest  taken  by  his 
angels  in  the  concerns  of  men ;  and  to  believe  that  a 
book,  not  one  thing  contained  in  which  may  we  dare  to 
take  away  or  to  alter,  the  whole  being  given  by  the  in- 
spiration of  God,  and  profitable  for  doctrine,  for  reproof, 
for  correction,  for  instruction  in  righteousness,  that 
such  a  book  is  not  a  volume  of  riddles  and  allegories ; 
but  is  a  plain,  comprehensible  declaration,  no  less  of 
what  we  are  to  believe  than  of  what  we  are  to  do. 


VI. 


ANGELIC  INTEREST  IN  THE  JEWISH 
PEOPLE. 

It  may  appear  strange  to  devote  a  separate  section  to 
this  subject,  seeing  that  the  whole  is,  so  far,  essentially 
Jewish  :  but  we  live  in  a  time  so  peculiar,  and  the  por- 
tion of  the  Old  Testament  which  remains  to  be  con- 
sidered, bears  so  directly  upon  what  we  in  our  day 
look  for,  while  it  primarily  treated  of  a  former  and  very 
partial  work  of  mercy,  that  we  must  especially  point 
it  out.  Zechariah  was  cotemporary  with  Daniel  du- 
ring the  later  years  of  that  great  prophet's  ministry ; 
and  in  the  abundance  of  the  prophetic  revelations 
made  to  him,  he  was  scarcely  less  favoured :  but  his 
visions  have  this  distinguishing  mark,  that  they  refer 
almost  exclusively  to  the  literal  restoration  of  the  lit- 
eral Israel  to  the  land  which  God  gave  unto  their  fa- 
thers, and  to  their  seed  after  them,  for  an  inheritance 
to  the  end  of  the  world. 

Daniel  sometimes  beheld  several  individuals  of  the 
angelic  legions  uniting  their  testimony  as  to  the  divine 
authority  of  what  was  declared  to  him  ;  but  Zechariah 
saw  them  in  larger  numbers,  and  astir  with  great  viva- 


ANGELIC    INTEREST    IN   THE  JEWISH  PEOPLE.      201 

city  in  the  work  of  preparation  for  the  return  of  his 
people  from  captivity.  It  is  a  glorious  spectacle  that 
this  sublime  book  opens  to  us,  and  may  well  shame  our 
cold-heartedness  in  a  cause  so  dear  to  the  inhabitants 
of  heaven.  For  our  example,  no  doubt,  as  equally  for 
the  encouragement  of  Israel  after  the  flesh,  is  all  this 
written  down ;  and  howsoever  we  may  delude  our- 
selves by  the  so-called  spiritualizing  of  these  things,  if 
not  to  the  exclusion  at  least  to  the  national  extinguish- 
ment of  the  Jews  as  a  separate  people,  we  shall  yet 
find  that  a  literal  accomplishment  will  be  given  to 
every  word  which  the  Lord  has  spoken  of,  or  to,  the 
natural  descendants  of  Jacob — yea,  that  one  jot  or  one 
tittle  shall  in  no  wise  pass  away,  until  all  be  fulfilled. 
We  cannot  fully  enter  upon  the  extraordinary  in- 
stances of  angelic  kindness,  and  we  may  call  it  affec- 
tionate freedom  of  discourse,  displayed  in  the  book  of 
Zechariah.  He  begins  by  relating,  "  I  saw  by  night, 
and  behold  a  man  riding  upon  a  red  horse,  and  he 
stood  among  the  myrtle  trees  that  were  in  the  bottom ; 
and  behind  them  there  were  red  horses,  speckled  and 
white.  Then  said  I,  O  my  Lord,  what  are  these  ? 
And  the  angel  that  talked  with  me  said  unto  me,  I  will 
show  thee  what  these  be.  And  the  man  that  stood 
among  the  myrtle  trees  answered  and  said,  These  are 
they  whom  the  Lord  hath  sent  to  walk  to  and  fro 
through  the  earth.  And  they  answered  the  angel  of 
the  Lord  that  stood  among  the  myrtle  trees,  and  said, 
We  have  walked  to  and  fro  through  the  earth,  and 
behold,  all  the  earth  sitteth  still,  and  is  at  rest."  Zech. 
i.  8 — 11.     It  has  been  decided  by  expositors  in  gen- 


202  OF   THE    HOLY   ANGELS  : 

eral,  that  the  man  who  stooa  among  the  myrtle  trees 
was  the  Lord  Jesus ;  and  this  decision  seems  to  be 
grounded  on  the  sequel :  "  Then  the  angel  of  the  Lord 
answered  and  said,  O  Lord  of  Hosts,  how  long  wilt  thou 
not  have  mercy  on  Jerusalem,  and  on  the  cities  of  Ju- 
dah,  against  which  thou  hast  had  indignation  these 
threescore  and  ten  years  ?  And  the  Lord  answered 
the  angel  that  talked  with  me,  with  good  words  and 
comfortable  words."  (Verses  .12,  13.)  Christ  being 
the  one  appointed  Mediator  between  God  and  Man,  it 
is  alike  vain  and  sinful  to  seek  the  intercession  of  any 
created  being ;  but  are  we  therefore  justified  in  deny- 
ing to  the  angels  a  privilege  that  we  know  from  holy 
writ  the  spirits  of  the  redeemed  enjoy  ?  John  heard 
the  souls  of  them  that  were  slain  for  the  testimony  of 
Jesus,  asking  how  long  it  would  be  ere  their  blood  was 
avenged  on  them  that  dwelt  upon  the  earth  ;  and  sure- 
ly an  angel  might  venture  to  remind  the  Lord  that  the 
time  spoken  of  by  Jeremiah,  threescore  and  ten  years, 
was  now  come  to  an  end ;  and  to  ask  how  long  it 
should  be  ere  he  would  have  mercy  on  Jerusalem,  and 
on  the  cities  of  Judah,  which  were  to  be  rebuilt  and 
inhabited  again.  In  the  first  year  of  Darius,  Daniel 
made  his  accepted  prayer,  grounded  on  his  understand- 
ing by  the  books  that  the  number  of  the  years  revealed 
to  Jeremiah  was  almost  fulfilled :  and  in  the  second 
year  of  Darius,  Zechariah  hears  an  angel  remarking 
the  same  thing,  in  a  tone  of  reverential  entreaty. 

Surely  those  holy,  zealous  servants  of  the  Lord  are 
not  less  concerned  than  we  are  for  the  glory  of  his 
name,  and  confusion  of  his  enemies  in  the  exact  per- 


4NGELIC   INTEREST  IN  THE    JEWISH    IEOPLE.       203 

formance  of  all  his  gracious  promises.  The  Lord 
having  answered  the  ansrel  that  talked  to  Zechariah 
u  with  good  words  and  comfortable  words,"  the  pur- 
port of  that  answer  was  joyfully  proclaimed  by  the 
angel ;  who  then  dictated  to  Zechariah  what  he  was 
to  declare  in  the  Lord's  name,  of  his  merciful  purposes 
to  Zion,  and  his  sore  displeasure  "  with  the  heathen 
that  are  at  ease."  The  angel  next  showed  the  prophet 
a  symbol  of  the  power  of  the  Gentiles,  scattering  Ju- 
dah,  Israel,  and  Jerusalem  ;  and  of  the  destruction  that 
awaited  them  for  so  doing. 

It  is  very  beautiful  to  mark  the  bustle  and  joyous 
activity  among  the  heavenly  hosts,  when  the  Lord's 
purpose  of  immediate  mercy  to  his  people  and  his  land 
was  made  known.  "  I  lifted  up  mine  eyes,  and  look- 
ed, and  beheld  a  man  with  a  measuring  line  in  his 
hand.  Then  said  I,  whither  goest  thou  1  And  he  said 
unto  me,  To  measure  Jerusalem,  to  see  what  is  the 
breadth  thereof,  and  what  is  the  length  thereof.  And 
behold,  the  angel  that  talked  with  me  went  forth,  and 
another  angel  went  out  to  meet  him,  and  said  unto 
him,  Run,  speak  to  this  young  man,  saying,  Jerusalem 
shall  be  inhabited  as  towns  without  walls,  for  the  mul- 
titude of  men  and  cattle  therein :  for  I,  saith  the  Lord 
will  be  unto  her  a  wall  of  fire  round  about,  and  will 
be  the  glory  in  the  midst  of  her."  Zech.  ii.  1 — 5.  A 
splendid  strain  ensues,  expressive  of  the  coming  revi- 
val, and  more  distant  triumph  of  Israel  in  Jerusalem ; 
after  which,  says  the  prophet,  "  He  showed  me  Joshua 
the  high-priest  standing  before  the  angel  of  the  Lord, 
and  Satan  standing  at  his   right  hand  to  resist  him. 


204  OF    THE    HOLY   ANGELS  I 

And  the  Lord  said  unto  Satan,  The  Lord  rebuke  thee, 
O  Satan  :  even  the  Lord  that  hath  chosen  Jerusalem, 
rebuke  thee  :  is  not  this  a  brand  plucked  out  of  the 
fire  ?  Now  Joshua  was  clothed  with  filthy  garments, 
and  stood  before  the  angel."  Zech.  iii.  1 — 3.  Who- 
ever is  meant  by  this  angel  before  whom  Joshua  stood, 
one  thing  is  certain  ;  we  have  here  the  great  adversa- 
ry himself  in  person  resisting  the  re-establishment  of 
Israel  as  a  nation,  and  the  Lord  silencing  his  malig- 
nant opposition,  and  repeating  the  blessed  assurance, 
that  the  brand  which  he  desired  to  consume  was,  in- 
deed, by  the  Almighty  arm,  plucked  from  the  burning. 
Joshua  was  then  re-clad,  and  a  mitre  placed  on  his 
head,  "  And  the  angel  of  the  Lord  stood  by :  and  the 
angel  of  the  Lord  protested  unto  Joshua,  saying,  Thus 
saith  the  Lord  of  Hosts  ;  if  thou  wilt  walk  in  my  ways," 
&c.  The  prophet  appears  to  have  been  lost  in  the 
contemplation  of  the  things  then  promised  to  his  be- 
loved people,  but  he  was  recalled  to  witness  further 
wonders :  "  The  angel  that  talked  with  me  came  again 
and  waked  me,  as  a  man  that  is  wakened  out  of  his 
sleep,  and  said  unto  me,  What  seest  thou  ?"  (iv.  1.) 
He  sees  some  typical  objects :  and  with  the  respectful 
freedom  that  the  condescension  of  his  guide  was  well 
calculated  to  encourage,  he  asked,  "  What  are  these, 
my  Lord  ?  Then  the  angel  that  talked  with  me  an- 
swered and  said  unto  me,  Knowest  thou  not  what  these 
be  ?  And  I  said,  No,  my  Lord  ;"  (verses  4,  5.)  The 
same  form  of  interrogation,  and  an  explanatory  reply 
from  the  angel,  occurs  again  five  times ;  exhibiting 
most  beautifully  the  indulgent  temper  of  the  holy  an- 


ANGELIC  INTEREST  IN  THE    JEWISH   PEOPLE.       203 

gel,  who  continually  invites  inquiry,  and  evidently 
takes  a  high  pleasure  in  making  everything  known  to 
the  prophet.  The  very  expression  used  by  our  angel 
to  another,  "  Run,  speak  to  this  young  man,"  when 
the  word  to  be  spoken  was  an  assurance  of  the  coming 
restoration,  abundance,  and  security  of  Jerusalem,  in- 
dicates a  feeling  perfectly  similar  to  that  with  which 
we  would  all  hasten  to  communicate  to  a  beloved 
friend  any  tidings  of  especial  gladness  and  advantage. 
It  gives  rise  to  reflections,  that  ought  at  once  to  awa- 
ken our  gratitude,  and  doubly  to  increase  our  zeal ; 
for  surely  we  cannot  make  light  of  such  indications  of 
sympathy  on  the  part  of  creatures  who  have  far  less 
cause  than  we  to  rejoice  in  the  Lord's  returning  love 
to  his  ancient,  chosen  people.  The  angels  who,  at, 
different  periods  of  his  wonderful  history,  communed 
with  Abraham,  and  made  known  to  him,  on  some  oc- 
casions, the  will  of  the  Lord,  which  at  other  times  he 
knew  by  direct  inspiration — those  very  angels,  with 
all  the  perfection  of  memory  belonging  to  their  high 
natures  and  faculties,  never  impaired  by  sin,  are 
watching  the  fulfilment  of  every  tittle  of  what  was 
then  foreshown.  He  who,  by  the  threshing-floor  of 
Oman  the  Jebusite,  pointed  his  drawn  sword  over  Je- 
rusalem, and  gladly  sheathed  it  at  the  command  of 
her  forgiving  Lord,  still  looks  upon  her  desolations, 
and  yearns  over  the  royal  city  of  David,  trodden  un- 
der foot  of  the  Gentiles  ;  while  a  sword,  more  destruc- 
tive than  that  which  he  wielded  in  the  three  days' 
pestilence,  is  upon  her  children  from  generation  to 
generation,  consuming  not  merely  the  life  of  the  body, 
18 


206  OF   THE   HOLY    ANGELS! 

but  extinguishing  also  that  of  the  soul.  Gabriel,  who 
so  minutely  set  forth  to  Daniel  the  dates  of  things 
which  were  to  come,  is  watching  for  the  time  when 
Michael,  the  great  prince  that  standeth  for  the  Jewish 
people,  shall  "  stand  up,"  and  bring  the  afflictions  to 
an  issue.  He  who  reminded  the  Lord  that  his  indig- 
nation against  Jerusalem  and  the  cities  of  Judah,  had 
already  burned  on  to  the  predicted  threescore  and  ten 
years,  is  waiting  now  to  see  the  days  fulfilled,  when  a 
far  longer  and  fiercer  visitation  of  the  divine  displea- 
sure shall  have  an  end,  and  one  angelic  messenger 
may  hasten  another  to  run  with  the  glad  tidings  of 
pardon,  of  jealousy  for  Jerusalem,  of  sore  displeasure 
against  the  heathen  who  are  at  ease,  and  of  the  final 
fraying  of  every  horn  of  pride  that  has  contributed  to 
scatter  Judah  and  Israel.  We  naturally  take  a  live- 
lier interest  in  events  of  which  we  have  ourselves  seen 
the  commencement,  and  fully  expect  to  see  the  termi- 
nation, than  in  those  which  began  before  our  days,  and 
are  not  likely  to  come  to  an  end  till  we  are  gone. 
Thus  it  is  that  we  may  in  some  measure  comprehend 
the  feeling  of  earnest  expectation  with  which  the  holy 
angels  must  regard  the  winding  up  of  this  world's  his- 
tory, the  creation  whereof,  in  its  bright,  unclouded 
morning,  called  forth  their  songs  and  shouts  of  joy. 
Every  word  of  God  to  man  was  spoken  in  the  presence 
of  spirits  both  good  and  bad  ;  and  while  the  devils,  who 
themselves  are  constrained  to  believe,  and  tremble, 
would  fain  retard  the  accomplishment  of  the  Lord's 
merciful  purposes,  by  stirring  up  the  vile  principle  of 
unbelief,  rebellion,  and  ingratitude  in  man's  heart,  the 


ANGELIC   INTEREST  IN  THE    JEWISH    PEOPLE.       207 

angels,  though  they  can  have  no  sympathy  with  un- 
holy,  unthankful,  disobedient  men,  yet  mourn  over  the 
delinquency  that  originated  in  the  successful  wiles  of 
a  powerful  and  subtle  foe,  and  long  for  the  time  when 
their  King  shall  take  to  himself  his  great  power,  and 
reign  triumphant  over  the  earth,  according  to  the  sure 
promises,  which  they  have  often  been  commissioned  to 
repeat  and  reiterate  in  his  name.  Regarding  with  ho- 
ly indignation  the  work  of  malignant  sin,  as  wrought 
by  their  apostate  fellows  in  a  creature  once  so  fair 
and  so  good,  they  rejoice  in  the  presence  of  God  over 
even  one  repenting  sinner,  and  celebrate  each  individual 
triumph  of  divine  grace,  as  an  earnest  of  what  is  ulti- 
mately to  be  accomplished  throughout  the  whole  earth. 
The  glory  of  the  Lord  is  intimately  concerned  in  the 
exact  fulfilment  of  every  word  that  he  has  spoken ; 
and  no  marvel  if  "the  angels  desire  to  look  into"  the 
gradual  development  of  that  mighty  plan  which  is 
known  to  none  but  God  alone,  except  as  far  as  he  has 
foreshown  it  in  prophetic  revelations,  and  gradually 
brings  it  to  pass  in  the  sight  of  angels,  of  devils,  and 
of  men. 

All  this  we  know  from  the  sure  word  of  God ;  and 
can  we  doubt  of  their  intense  interest  in  that  particular 
family  which  for  a  long  period  of  time  constituted  their 
only  care  ?  We  say  their  only  care  as  regards  this 
earth ;  for  throughout  the  Gentile  world  the  system 
of  devil-worship  prevailed,  all  being  sunk  in  idolatry  ; 
and  it  is  morally  impossible  that  with  such  the  angels 
of  God  could  have  any  fellowship,  or  behold  without 
horror  those  detestable  perversions  of  human  intellect, 


208  OF   THE   HOLY   ANGELS: 

those  bold  strivings  against  the  inward  law  of  man's 
conscience,  that  refused  to  acknowledge  the  glorious 
Creator  in  his  visible  works ;  and,  turning  his  truth 
into  a  lie,  gave  that  honour  to  stocks  and  stones,  to 
beasts,  reptiles,  and  their  own  vilest  passions,  embodi- 
ed and  deified,  which  was  due  alone  to  him  who  gave 
them  rain  and  sunshine,  and  fruitful  seasons,  filling 
their  hearts  with  food  and  gladness.  The  only  work 
that  we  can  suppose  the  angels  to  have  been  engaged 
in  among  the  heathen  nalions  is  that  which  we  believe 
they  are  continually  performing  throughout  the  whole 
world — the  bearing  away  from  earth  those  rescued 
souls  whose  clay  tenements  are  dissolved  in  infancy ; 
and  who,  not  having  sinned  after  the  similitude  of 
Adam's  transgression — that  is  to  say,  knowingly  and 
wilfully,  are  yet  laid  under  the  sentence  of  bodily 
death — while  the  all-atoning  blood  of  the  Lamb  is  ap- 
plied to  them,  canceling  the  original  debt,  and  they 
are  eternally  saved.  This  we  firmly  believe  to  be  the 
case  with  every  human  being  who  dies  in  infancy  ; 
not  that  their  quitting  the  body  before  they  have  wil- 
fully sinned  gives  them  any  title  to  heaven  ;  but  that 
God,  who  will  surround  his  throne  with  a  great  multi- 
tude whom  no  man  can  number,  out  of  every  kindred, 
and  people,  and  nation,  and  tongue,  sets  the  seal  of 
his  electing  love  on  a  certain  number,  and  takes  them 
away ;  such  early  departure  not  being  the  cause  but 
the  effect  of  their  salvation.  Over  these,  w«  may  well 
believe  the  angels  have  an  especial  charge,  tenderly 
watching  them  during  their  transitory  sojourn  in  the 
flesh,  perhaps  communing  with   their   spirits,  which 


ANGELIC    INTEREST    IN    THE   JEWISH   PEOPLE.      209 

though  yet  unable  to  act  by  the  bodily  functions,  may 
be  free  to  hold  high  and  glorious  intercourse  with  the 
unseen  world — to  us  unseen — and  then  rejoicingly 
taking  charge  of  their  liberated  souls,  as  our  Lord  in- 
forms  us  they  did  that  of  Lazarus,  who  "died,  and 
was  carried  by  the  angels  into  Abraham's  bosom." 
Luke  xvi. 

But  with  this  exception,  we  repeat,  one  family  of  the 
human  race  monopolized  the  favouring  care  of  the 
heavenly  hosts  during  many  successive  generations. 
The  angels  cannot  move  a  step,  save  as  commissioned 
by  their  King ;  and  he  says  to  the  people  of  Israel, 
"  You  only  have  I  known  of  all  the  families  of  the 
earth."  Amos  iii.  2.  They  alone  were  the  recognised 
objects  of  his  love ;  to  them  only  were  committed  the 
revelation  of  his  will :  they  were  chosen,  called,  pre- 
served, led,  and  by  a  succession  of  miraculous  mer- 
cies, forgiven  their  transgressions,  because  of  them,  as 
concerning  the  flesh,  Christ  was  to  come ;  and  be- 
cause to  them  the  gift  and  calling  of  God  which  are 
without  repentance,  insured  a  pre-eminence  of  national 
privilege  forever. 

And  what,  a  pre-eminence  of  privilege  do  they  now, 
through  the  long  period  of  the  Gentile  dispensation  and 
their  own  dreadful  depression,  enjoy  1  Gigantic  em- 
pires have  arisen,  and  towered  on  high,  and  crumbled 
into  dust :  Babylon,  the  queen  and  the  hammer  of  the 
whole  earth,  is  broken,  and  become  heaps  of  burnt  rub- 
bish, and  pools  of  stagnant  mud.  Of  Nineveh  no  trace 
remains,  by  which  to  identify  its  very  site  \  Greece, 
18* 


210  OF    THE    HOLY    ANGELS  I 

Persia,  survive  in  name,  but  what  now  are  the  men 
whose  fathers  ruled  the  world  ?  Rome  indeed  contin- 
ues, and  rules,  but-  how  1  the  battle  axe  and  weapons 
of  war  have  been  superseded  by  the  monk's  cowl  and 
the  harlot's  cup ;  and  she  is  reserved  to  light  up  with 
the  blaze  of  her  burning  the  scene  of  Israel's  predicted 
jubilee.  In  the  midst  of  all  these  changes,  the  Jew 
abides  the  same;  in  every  particular  the  same  as  when 
God  led  him  up  out  of  Egypt,  with  one  creed,  one  Ian- 
guage,  one  liturgy,  one  sorrow,  and  one  hope,  he  is 
found  in  every  corner  of  the  globe,  a  severed  fragment 
of  that  exquisite  design  which  the  Lord  shall  again 
arrange  as  of  old,  to  be  the  beauty  and  the  glory  of 
earth.  Other  people  have  changed  their  gods,  which 
be  no  gods,  and  assimilated  themselves  to  the  abomina- 
tions of  neighbouring  or  invading  unbelievers ;  and 
even  Christianity,  apart  from  the  Papal  apostasy  which 
wholly  unchristianizes  itself,  has  separated  into  so  many 
varying  sects  and  denominations,  that,  to  a  superficial 
or  ignorant  observer,  it  appears  to  consist  of  a  multi- 
tude of  religions,  each  contradicting  the  rest ;  but  in 
the  midst  of  this  stands  Judaism,  a  blighted,  but  still  a 
stately  tree,  unaltered  in  form  and  undiminished  in  size 
by  the  visitation  that  has  bound  up  its  sap,  and  shriv- 
eled the  once  verdant  leaf  into  dryness  and  corruption. 
Upon  this  noble  ruin  is  fixed  the  eyes  of  the  angelic 
squadron,  the  Maranaim  who  once  met  Jacob  on  his 
mysterious  way;  who  surrounded  the  march  of  his  de- 
scendants when  traversing  the  depths  of  the  sea,  and 
the  paths  of  the  wilderness  that  so  long  shut  them  in; 


ANGELIC    INTEREST    IN    THE   JEWISH   PEOPLE.       211 

who  heralded  the  presence  of  the  Most  High,  when  in 
clouds  and  darkness,  with  mighty  thunderings  and 
bursting  flames  of  fire  he  descended  on  Sinai  to  com- 
mune with  a  man  of  that  unspeakably  favoured  and 
privileged  race,  and  to  establish  a  covenant  with  the 
whole  people  of  Israel.  Those  angels  well  knew  that 
the  covenant  is  as  immutable  as  the  ordinances  of  day 
and  night ;  and  that  though  their  offences  be  visited 
with  the  rod,  and  their  iniquities  with  scourges,  yet  the 
Lord  will  not  utterly  withdraw  his  loving  kindness,  nor 
suffer  his  truth  to  fail.  Blighted  and  dishonoured  as 
the  leafless  tree  may  appear  in  the  sight  of  man,  they 
know  that  the  Lord  hath  said  it  shall  again  strike  root 
downward,  and  bear  fruit  upward ;  and  that  the  glory 
of  the  coming  deliverance  and  final  honour  shall  so 
exceed  whatever  the  people  of  Israel  have  aforetime 
enjoyed,  as  to  cause  even  the  stupendous  miracles  of 
their  wonderful  beginning  to  be  comparatively  forgot- 
ten. "  Behold  the  days  come,  saith  the  Lord,  that 
they  shall  no  more  say,  the  Lord  liveth,  which 
brought  up  the  children  of  Israel  out  of  the  land  of 
Egypt;  but,  The  Lord  liveth,  which  brought  up  and 
which  led  the  seed  of  the  house  of  Israel  out  of  the 
north  country,  and  from  all  countries  whither  I  had 
driven  them,  and  they  shall  dwell  in  their  own  land." 
Jer.  xxiii.  7,  8.  These  declarations  are  disbelieved  or 
explained  away  by  men,  and  the  hope  of  poor  Israel  is 
esteemed  a  vain  thing,  while  yet  walking  in  darkness 
and  having  no  spiritual  light,  he  stays  himself  upon 
this  word  of  the  God  of  his  fathers ;  but  the  angels, 


212  OF    THE    HOLY    ANGELS*. 

well  knowing  that  word  is  not  yea  and  nay,  look  for- 
ward with  earnest  expectation  to  the  triumphant  proof 
of  his  faithfulness  with  whom  is  no  variableness  neither 
shadow  of  turning. 

We  have  no  reason  to  suppose  that  the  angels  knew 
*  beforehand  how  our  Lord  would  be  rejected  of  his  own 
when  he  came  into  the  midst  of  them.     Many  among 
the  Jews,  like  Hannah  and  Simeon,  were  waiting  for 
the  consolation  of  Israel :  and  when  the  aged  believer 
held  the  child  Jesus  in  his  arms,  and  proclaimed  him 
a  light  to  lighten  the  Gentiles,  and  to  be  the  glory  of 
his  people  Israel,  it  is  probable  that,  like  the  disciples 
after  our  Lord's  resurrection,  and  even  after  he  had 
opened   their  understanding  to  understand  the  Scrip- 
tures, he  expected  the  kingdom  to  be  at  that  time  re- 
stored to  their  nation.     Such  would  be  the  impression 
on  the  minds  of  the  angels,  so  far  as  we  can  judge ; 
and  the  joy  with  which  the  messages  were  borne  suc- 
cessively of  the  approach  of  his  forerunner,  of  his  own 
conception,  and  of  his  birth,  was  undoubtedly  a  joy  in 
which  the  chosen  people  of  God,  the  Jews,  were  a  very 
principal  object.     When  Gabriel  appeared  to  Zacha- 
rias  in  the  temple,  and  announced  the  honour  about  to 
be  put  on  the  house  of  the  aged  priest,  lie  said  of  the 
promised  child,  "  And  many  of  the  children  of  Israel 
shall  he  turn  to  the  Lord  their  God."   Luke  i.  1G.     It 
was  in  the  Jewish  temple,  in  the  midst  of  the  Aaronic 
rites,  and  standing}  beside  the  altar  of  incense,  that  this 
bright  angel  was  revealed  to  the  officiating  priest  •  and 
surely  the   heart  of  Gabriel   must  have  glowed  with 


ANGELIC    INTEREST    IN    THE   JEWISH    PEOPLE.       213 

holy  joy,  while  remembering  the  promise  that  the  glory 
of  that  latter  house  should  exceed  the  glory  of  the  for- 
mer,  immeasurably  as  it  came  short  of  it  in  external 
and  internal  magnificence ;  and  a  measure  of  resent- 
ful displeasure  might  well  mingle  itself  with  his  glad- 
ness, when  the  chilling  doubt  of  Zachariaswas  opposed 
to  his  declaration.  The  language  of  Ins  reply  is  ex- 
ceedingly lofty  :  "  I  am  Gabriel,  that  stand  in  the 
presence  of  God  j  and  am  sent  to  speak  to  thee,  and  to 
show  thee  these  glad  tidings.7'  Luke  i.  19.  He  could 
not  but  remember  Daniel's  simple  faith  and  holy  joy, 
when  welcoming  his  more  dim  and  distant  communi- 
cation of  things  that  should  come  to  pass  long  after  the 
prophet's  departure.  Daniel's  language  was  not, 
"  Whereby  shall  I  know  this  ?"  but,  "  O  my  lord,  how 
long  shall  it  be  to  the  end  of  these  wonders  ?"  The 
angel  proceeds  to  inflict  the  gentle  but  necessary  chas- 
tisement provoked  by  the  old  Israelite's  want  of  faith. 
"  And  behold,  thou  shalt  be  dumb,  and  not  be  able  to 
speak,  until  the  day  that  these  things  shall  be  per- 
formed, because  thou  believest  not  my  words,  which 
shall  be  fulfilled  in  their  season."  Luke  i.  20.  Here 
he  seems  abruptly  to  have  departed. 

Six  months  after,  the  same  zealous  angel  was  des- 
patched on  a  mission  for  which  the  heart  of  each  one 
who  reads  these  pages,  whether  Jew  or  Gentile,  ought 
to  send  up  a  song  of  thanksgiving  to  the  Lord.  It 
strictly  belongs  to  this  branch  of  our  subject,  since  it 
was  most  peculiarly  and  exclusively  a  Jewish  event,  so 
far.     He  in  whom  all  the  families  of  the  earth  were  to 


214  OF    THE    HOLY    ANGELS  I 

be  blessed,  was  emphatically  the  seed  of  Abraham ; 
andwe  shall  see  how  peculiarly  this  was  marked  in 
the  language  of  Gabriel.  He  "  was  sent  from  God 
unto  a  city  of  Galilee,  named  Nazareth,  to  a  virgin 
espoused  to  a  man  whose  name  was  Joseph,  of  the 
house  of  David  :  and  the  virgin's  name  was  Mary.  And 
the  angel  came  in  unto  her,  and  said,  Hail,  thou  that 
art  highly  favoured,  the  Lord  is  with  thee  :  blessed  art 
thou  among  women."  This  glowing  and  beautiful 
salutation,  so  expressive  of  delight  in  the  honour  to  be 
put  upon  the  simple  maiden  of  Israel,  and  in  the  stu- 
pendous mercy  about  to  be  shown  to  man,  has  been 
perverted  into  an  atrocious  piece  of  blasphemous  idol- 
atry by  the  apostate  Church  of  Rome,  which  like  Satan 
himself,  chooses  the  holiest  things  to  pollute,  and  to 
make  occasions  of  sin.  Gabriel,  seeing  her  troubled 
and  perplexed  at  such  an  address  from  so  glorious  a 
personage,  proceeded  to  encourage  her ;  and  telling 
her  of  the  Son  whom  she  was  chosen  to  bear,  he  said, 
"He  shall  be  great,  and  shall  be  called  the  Son  of  the 
Highest:  and  the  Lord  God  shall  give  unto  him  the 
throne  of his  father  David  ?  and  he  shall  reigii  over  the 
house  of  Jacob  for  ever."  Luke  i.  32,  88. 

Now  it  is  certainly  very  difficult,  with  any  respecj 
for  scriptural  example,  or  any  regard  to  the  inspired 
phraseology,  to  take  that  expression,  u  the  house  of  Ja- 
cob," otherwise  than  as  literally  signifying  the  actual 
descendants  of  that  patriarch.  Believers  of  every  na- 
tion are  the  children  of  Abraham  by  faith  :  they  are 
spiritually  called  Israel  in  some  passages :  and  Jeru- 


ANGELIC  INTEREST    IN    THE    JEWISH  PEOPLE.       215 

salem  which  is  above  is  the  mother  of  us  all ;  but  "  the 
house  of  Jacob  "  is  as  definite  in  its  meaning  as  is  "  the 
house  and  lineage  of  David ;"  and  we  have  just  as 
much  rio-ht  to  make  a  figure  of  the  latter  as  of  the 
former. 

Our  Lord's  personal  ministry  also  was  so  far  exclu- 
sively among  the  Jews,  that  when  the  Syro-Phenician 
woman  besought  him  to  heal  her  daughter,  he  answer- 
ed, I  am  not  sent  but  to  the  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of 
Israel :  nay,  he  so  far  established  the  exclusiveness  of 
the  Jewish  son-ship,  up  to  that  time,  as  to  add,  "  It  is 
not  meet  to  take  the  children's  bread  and  cast  it  to 
doo-s."  Moreover,  if  those  were  Gentiles  who  came 
from  the  East  to  seek  the  new-born  King  of  the  Jews, 
the  revelation  of  his  birth  being  made  to  them  not  by 
angelic  messengers,  but  by  the  appearance  of  a  star 
in  the  visible  heavens,  and  that  when  they  were  to  be 
warned  not  to  return  to  Herod,  it  was  by  an  intimation 
from  God  in  a  dream,  confirms  the  fact,  that  so  far  the 
family  of  Israel  after  the  flesh  was  that  branch  of  man- 
kind on  which  the  angels  of  God  fixed  their  regards, 
and  to  whom  they  ministered,  and  concerning  whom 
they  anticipated  most  glorious  things.  When  Joseph 
was  minded  to  put  away  Mary,  an  angel  satisfied  him 
that  she  had  in  no  way  deserved  the  suspicion  that  he 
naturally  harboured  concerning  her ;  and  this  angel 
addressed  him,  "  Joseph,  thou  son  of  David,"  with  an 
obvious  allusion  to  the  promise  so  fondly  cherished  by 
every  believing  Jew.  Accordingly  to  this  head  be- 
longs in  part  the  subject  of  the  next  section,  and  how- 


216  OF   THE    HOLY   ANGELS : 

ever  disposed  the  wild  graft  may  be  to  boast  itself  against 
the  natural  branches,  we  may  rest  assured  that  there  is 
no  event  in  man's  history  so  intensely  watched  and 
anxiously  waited  for  by  the  holy  angels  as  that  of  the 
literal  Israel,  no  longer  abiding  in  unbelief,  being  once 
more  grafted  into  their  own  olive  tree,  to  blossom  and 
bud,  and  fill  the  face  of  the  world  with  fruit. 


VII. 

CHRIST  SEEN  OF  ANGELS. 

One  part  of  "  the  mystery  of  godliness  "  consists  in 
"  God  manifest  in  the  flesh  "  being  "seen  of  angels.'7 
1  Tim.  iii.  16.  The  Apostle  Paul,  who  declares  this, 
elsewhere  speaks  of  himself  and  his  brethren  as  being 
"  made  a  spectacle  unto  the  world,  and  to  angels,  and 
to  men."  1  Cor.  iv.  9.  But  in  order  to  acquire  some 
little  understanding  of  that  amazing  scene  which  open- 
ed upon  the  eyes  of  the  holy  angels,  when  "  the  Word 
became  flesh  and  dwelt  among  us,"  we  must  revert 
again  to  the  magnificent  vision  of  Isaiah,  who  saw  the 
Lord  high  and  lifted  up,  and  his  train  filling  the  tern- 
pie ;  the  winged  seraphim  standing  before  him,  co- 
vering their  faces  with  their  wings,  and  crying  one  to 
another,  as  though  too  deeply  struck  to  address  the 
mighty  One  himself,  "  Holy,  holy,  holy  is  the  Lord 
of  Hosts."  We  must  remember  the  prophet's  excla- 
mation of  dismay  and  despair,  for  that  he,  a  man  of 
unclean  lips,  had  seen  the  Lord ;  and  the  process  by 
which  one  of  the  seraphim  was  commissioned  to  re- 
19 


218  OF    THE    HOLY    ANGELS : 

move  his  fear  of  present  destruction.  Then  turning 
to  the  twelfth  chapter  of  St.  John's  gospel,  we  find  it 
written  concerning  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  "  These  words 
spake  Isaiah  when  he  saw  his  glory,  and  wrote  of 
him." 

He,  therefore,  who  was  thus  seen  of  angels,  mani- 
fest in  the  flesh,  being  formed  in  fashion  as  a  man, 
making  himself  of  no  reputation,  taking  upon  him  the 
form  of  a  servant,  and  humbling  himseiT  even  to  the 
death  of  the  cross,  He  was  the  King,  the  Lord  of 
Hosts,  to  whom  the  seraphim  could  not  lift  their  faces, 
and  of  whose  glorious  holiness  they  spoke  one  to  ano- 
ther in  tones  of  solemn  awe.  Great  indeed  must  be 
the  love  of  those  celestial  creatures  to  our  fallen  race, 
when  they  could  even  rejoice  in  triumphant  songs,  be- 
cause, for  our  sakes,  that  terribly  glorious  King  of 
Heaven  had  become  a  "  babe  wrapped  in  swaddling 
clothes,  and  lying  in  a  manger."  Oh,  that  we  could, 
in  any  degree,  realize  what  was  then  seen  of  angels, 
that  our  cold  hearts  might  glow  with  a  portion  of  gra- 
titude and  love  to  Him  !  The  greatest  wonder  in  re- 
demption is  the  frozen  indifference  with  which  man 
contemplates  his  Redeemer's  work.  Even  the  best 
of  men  in  his  best  moments  must  be  a  spectacle  to  an- 
gels through  his  lukewarm  composure,  and  the  feeble- 
ness of  his  efforts  to  make  known  to  his  fellow-sinners 
what  the  angels,  who  themselves  gained  nothing  by  it, 
rushed  in  troops  to  communicate,  and  celebrated  with 
songs  of  enraptured  praise. 

They  had  seen  the  Lord's  Christ,  as  a  mortal  infant, 
his  birth-place  a  stable,  and  his  companions  the  beasts 


CHRIST    SEEN    OF    ANGELS.  219 

of  the  stall.  Under  the  divine  direction,  they  then 
proceeded  to  make  known  to  some  of  the  Lord's  peo- 
ple the  miracle  of  divine  love.  It  is  certainly  the 
most  exquisite  picture  in  the  whole  Bible,  if  we  can 
divest  our  minds  of  the  absurdly  childish  idea  which 
our  prejudices  have  probably  associated  with  the  ap- 
pearance of  an  angel,  and  portray  to  ourselves  the  ma- 
jesty, no  less  than  the  beauty  in  which  those  splendid 
creatures  are  arrayed,  when  not  walking  the  earth  in 
the  form  and  the  garb  of  men. 

There  were  "Shepherds  abiding  in  the  field,  keep- 
ing watch  over  their  flocks  by  night :  and  lo,  the  an- 
gel of  the  Lord  came  upon  them,  and  the  glory  of  the 
Lord  shone  round  about  them,  and  they  were  sore 
afraid."  This  angelic  herald,  who  came  to  proclaim 
his  King  and  theirs,  seems  to  have  worn,  as  it  were, 
his  robe  of  state  for  the  occasion.  He  "  came  upon 
them,"  probably  standing  between  earth  and  heaven, 
as  the  mighty  angel  whom  David  saw,  but  not  armed 
with  a  destroying  sword  ;  and  the  brightness  that  shone 
in  his  countenance,  a  glory  derived  like  that  of  Mo- 
ses' face,  from  contemplating  the  presence  of  God, 
shed  a  broad  light  on  the  group  of  astonished  shep- 
herds, who  beheld  in  a  moment  the  darkness  of  night 
turned  into  the  blaze  of  day  ;  and  were  terrified  at  the 
spectacle  of  so  august  a  being.  "And  the  angel  said 
unto  them,  Fear  not ;  for  behold  I  bring  you  good  ti- 
dings of  great  joy,  which  shall  be  to  all  people.  For 
unto  you  (Israelites)  is  born  this  day,  in  the  city  of 
David,  a  Saviour,  which  is  Christ  the  Lord.  And  this 
shall    be   a   sign  unto  you,  Ye  shall  find  the  babe 


220  OF  THE    HOLY    ANGELS  \ 

wrapped  in  swaddling  clothes,  lying  in  a  manger." 
How  grand  is  the  sequel !  "  And  suddenly  there  was 
with  the  angel  a  multitude  of  the  heavenly  host,  prai- 
sing God,  and  saying,  Glory  to  God  in  the  highest, 
and  on  earth,  peace,  good  will  toward  men !"  It  would 
seem  as  though  the  very  wonder,  not  to  say  consterna- 
tion, occasioned  by  seeing  the  Lord  of  heaven  and 
earth  so  abased  as  they  described  him  to  be,  were  lost 
in  the  joyful  assurance,  that  since  he,  the  Prince  of 
Peace,  was  come  down  to  dwell  on  earth,  peace  must 
ensue  in  all  her  borders  ;  and  that  such  a  token  of 
good  will  to  men  was  the  sure  earnest  of  defeat  and 
destruction  to  the  evil  spirits  who  had  so  long  borne 
rule  over  her  population.  The  seed  of  the  woman 
had  appeared  ;  the  serpent's  head  would  therefore  now 
be  effectually  bruised ;  and  since  we  may  well  be- 
lieve it  utterly  impossible  that  angelic  natures  should 
conceive  the  extent  to  which  man's  hardened  depravity 
could  be  driven  by  Satan,  even  to  the  crucifying  of  the 
Lord  of  glory,  their  benevolent  joy  knew  no  draw- 
back ;  and  with  a  sudden  burst  revealing  themselves, 
as  they  were  permitted  to  do,  to  those  favoured  Jews, 
they  filled  the  visible  spaco  with  their  glorious  forms, 
and  poured  forth  the  divine  harmony  of  their  combined 
voices,  until  ascending  in  the  view  of  the  shepherds, 
they  went  away  from  them  into  heaven.  Upon  this 
scene  the  mind  of  infancy  always  seems  to  fasten  with 
a  peculiar  feeling  of  its  tender  beauty  ;  and  "  the 
child  Jesus,"  the  "babe -wrapped  in  swaddling  clothes, 
lying  in  a  manger,"  often  becomes  the  hope  of  a  heart 
too  young  to  comprehend    the  nature  of  its  faith — a 


CHRIST    SEEN    OF    ANGELS.  221 

saving  faith,  we  may  not  dare  to  doubt — in  many 
cases  where  the  wilful  sin  of  childhood  requires  that 
such  a  hold  should  be  taken  of  the  atoning  Saviour  : 
and  when  the  neglect  of  those  whose  general  custom 
it  is  to  defer  the  work  of  instructing  a  soul  in  the 
knowledge  of  God,  until  long  after  Satan  has  set  his 
infernal  imps  to  familiarize  it  with  evil,  would  have 
the  little  one  to  perish,  but  for  such  merciful  provision 
on  the  part  of  the  Most  High  for  those  whom  he  pur- 
poses to  remove  by  an  early  death,  but  not  before  they 
have  sinned  after  the  similitude  of  Adam's  transgres- 
sion. 

The  next  appearance  of  an  angelic  watcher  over  the 
incarnate  Lord,  was  in  a  dream  to  Joseph,  warning 
him.  "  Arise,  and  take  the  young  child  and  his  mo- 
ther, and  flee  into  Egypt,  and  be  thou  there  until  I 
bring  thee  word ;  for  Herod  will  seek  the  young  child 
to  destroy  him."  Matt.  ii.  13.  "  Until  I  bring  thee 
word,'"' — how  zealously  affected  were  these  heavenly 
creatures  in  the  good  work  it  was  their  privilege  to 
labour  in  !  This  angel  was  apprized  of  the  bloody 
purpose  of  the  tyrant,  and  knew  that  he  should  be  per- 
mitted to  watch  the  progress  of  his  impious  conspiracy 
against  the  new-born  King,  and  to  convey  to  the  be- 
lieving guardian  of  that  most  sacred  charge,  tidings 
of  safety,  when  all  peril  was  past .  He  seems  to  have 
cautioned  Joseph  against  any  possible  deception  from 
other  quarters ;  he  was  not  to  return  from  Egypt  until 
the  same  messenger,  who  now  bade  him  flee  thither, 
should  again  appear  to  authorize  his  quitting  it.  We 
may  readily  assure  ourselves  that  bright  squadrons  of 
19* 


OF   THE    HOLY    ANGELS : 

the  highest  angels  of  God,  surrounded  those  poor  fugi- 
tives,*and  kept  at  bay  every  foe  that  might  have  crept 
on  their  nocturnal  path.  Christ  was  at  all  times  "  seen 
of  angels,"  and  in  one  way  or  another  they  perpetual- 
ly "  ministered  unto  him."  The  assurance  of  safety, 
through  Herod's  death,  was  at  length  given  by  the  an- 
gel in  another  dream  ;  and  once  more  in  the  full  sense 
of  which  the  former  deliverance  had  been  but  a  pro- 
phetic type,  out  of  Egypt  God  called  his  Son. 

Of  our  Lord's  early  years  no  record  is  given,  and 
we  are  not  warranted  in  supplying  the  blank  from  any 
stores  of  imagination.  Of  this  we  are  sure,  that  the 
Lord  Jesus  exhibited  alike  to  angels  and  to  men  an 
all-perfect  model  of  holiness,  harmlessness,  undefiled 
purity,  perfect  obedience,  and  that  glorious  righteous- 
ness by  the  imputation  of  which,  all  who  believe  on 
him  are  justified  from  all  things :  that  he  magnified 
the  law  and  made  it  honourable,  showing  forth  the 
sublime  beauty  of  that  in  which  man  sees,  alas  !  little 
to  desire,  and  much  to  shrink  from  as  grievous  and 
burdensome.  Thus  he  continued,  to  his  thirtieth  year, 
when  he  went  forth  to  John  in  the  wilderness,  to  be 
baptized,  and  to  receive  that  public  testimony  from 
heaven,  the  voice  of  the  Almighty  God,  proclaiming, 
"  This  is  my  beloved  Son,  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased  ;" 
while  the  mysterious  spirit  descended  and  abode  on 
him.  John  beheld  this,  and  others,  his  disciples,  cho- 
sen to  bear  testimony  to  this  solemn  anointing  of  our 
great  High  Priest;  but  their  eyes  were  not  opened  to 
behold  the  glory  that  surrounded  them — the  sapphire 
throne,  the  fiery  cherubim,   the  innumerable  company 


CHRIST    SEEN    OF    ANGELS.  223 

of  angels,  and  the  many  thousands  of  Israel,  with  the 
multitude  of  those  who  in  all  ages  had  looked  forward, 
and  by  faith  embraced  the  promise  of  the  Seed  of  the 
woman,  and  having  seen  the  day  of  Christ  afar  off, 
now  witnessed  his  actual  entrance  on  the  arena  of  that 
terrible  conflict  which  he  came  to  wage.  We  can 
have  but  very  poor  conceptions  of  that  awful  hour,  if 
we  consider  not  the  great  cloud  of  witnesses,  angels, 
and  disembodied  souls  of  men,  who  thronged  to  gaze 
upon  the  spectacle  ;  and  who,  beyond  doubt,  likewise 
surveyed  the  personal  encounter  that  followed  it. 

Of  this  we  have  before  spoken,  and  exhibited  the 
successive  wiles  of  the  devil  to  allure  his  mighty  an- 
tagonist into  some  concession  on  which  he  might  lay 
hold.  He  left  the  man  Christ  Jesus  on  a  pinnacle  of 
the  temple,  whither  he  had  been  permitted  to  bear  him 
for  the  last  trial  of  his  steadfastness ;  and  then  it  was 
that  "  angels  came  and  ministered  unto  him."  Up  to 
that  moment  they  were  not  permitted  to  interfere : 
Michael  and  his  holy  angels  might  form  in  bright  ar- 
ray, and  the  dragon's  fallen  angels  might  eagerly  look 
on,  panting  for  their  master's  success,  but  none  durst 
interpose.  The  strife  was  personal,  and  the  trium- 
phant issue  certain ;  for  who  among  created  beings, 
ever  hardened  himself  against  God,  and  prospered? 
"  Seen  of  angels  "  at  all  times,  it  was  not  often  that 
they  were  privileged  to  succour  their  incarnate  Lord 
as  now  we  are  told  they  did.  The  cake  and  the  cruse 
of  water  provided  by  the  angel  for  Elijah's  refresh- 
ment, were  cheerfully  prepared  and  courteously  be- 
stowed ;  but  with  what  eager  gladness  of  heart  must 


224  OF   THE   HOLY    ANGELS: 

those  ministering  spirits  have  brought  to  their  gracious 
King  the  sustenance  that  his  body,  exhausted  by  the 
prolonged  fast,  then  required  !  We  may  believe  it  to 
have  been  an  epoch  in  the  existence  of  the  holy,  happy 
creatures  who  were  chosen  to  render  this  service  and 
gently  too ;  to  facilitate  his  return  from  the  giddy 
height  to  which  Satan  had  borne  him ;  and  to  listen  to 
the  gracious  words  that  spoke  acceptance  of  their  devo- 
tion :  for  he  who  with  such  authority  rebuked  and  com- 
manded the  unclean  spirits  whenever  they  crossed  his 
path,  had  surely  words  of  another  tendency  whereby 
to  encourage  the  obedient,  and  to  animate  the  zealous 
servant. 

But  from  thenceforth  unmitigated  suffering  was  to 
be  the  lot  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  in  order  that  ours  might 
be  the  lot  of  unmingled  blessedness  :  foxes  have  holes, 
and  the  birds  of  the  air  have  nests,  but  the  Son  of  Man 
had  not  where  to  lay  his  head.  Disbelieved  on  by  his 
brethren,  who  also  mocked  and  aspersed  him  ;  slighted 
if  not  opposed  by  other  kindred  after  the  flesh;  not 
openly  acknowledged  or  countenanced  by  any  but  the 
poor  of  the  people;  and  subsisting,  on  the  little  aid  that 
such  could  afford  to  give  ;  it  does  not  appear  that  the 
angels  were  allowed  to  yield  relief  to  his  bodily  neces- 
sities, or  to  cheer  his  human  spirit  by  any  perceptible 
sympathy  in  his  griefs.  They,  however,  furnished 
him  with  a  continual  theme  of  discourse  ;  so  constantly 
adverted  to,  indeed,  that  were  no  mention  made  of 
them  in  any  other  part  of  God's  word,  we  could  gather 
enough  from  our  Lord's  incidental  illusions  to  inform 
us  what  are   their  natures,  their  employments,  their 


CHRIST    SEEN    OF    ANGELS.  225 

dispositions,  and  their  present  and  future  privileges.  It  is 
remarkable  how  often  he  dwells  upon  them  as  interest- 
ed spectators  of  the  affairs  of  this  world ;  and*  wit- 
nesses of  what  shall  hereafter  come  to  pass.  "  Who- 
soever shall  confess  me  before  men,  him  shall  the  Son 
of  Man  also  confess  before  the  angels  of  God :  but  he 
that  denieth  me  before  men,  shall  be  denied  before  the 
angels  of  God."  Luke  xii.  8.  9.  "  Whosoever  shall 
be  ashamed  of  me  and  my  words,  of  him  shall  the  Son 
of  Man  be  ashamed,  when  he  shall  come  in  his  own 
glory,  and  in  his  father's,  and  of  the  holy  angels." 
Luke  ix.  26.  "When  the  Son  of  Man  shall  come  in 
his  glory,  and  all  the  holy  angels  with  him,  then  shall 
he  sit  upon  the  throne  of  his  glory ;  and  before  him 
shall  be  gathered  all  nations."  Matt.  xxv.  31,  32. 
It  would  be  impossible  to  reconcile  such  expressions 
as  these  with  any  ignorance  on  the  part  of  the  heaven- 
ly host  as  to  what  passes  among  men  ;  on  the  contrary 
it  clearly  implies  that  they,  having  looked  upon  every 
transaction  in  the  human  family  throughout  its  contin- 
uance, will  be  summoned  as  witnesses  to  the  exact 
justness  of  the  final  award,  when  all  are  gathered  to- 
gether in  one  vast  assemblage,  to  receive  their  ever- 
lasting doom. 

But  wTe  must  return  to  the  story  as  regards  angelic 
interpositions,  recorded  in  the  narrative  of  our  Lord's 
personal  sojourn  on  earth.  After  the  close  of  his  com- 
bat with  the  Evil  One,  we  read  no  more  of  their  ap- 
pearance, until  that  most  awful  scene  when,  with  his 
soul  exceeding  sorrowful  even  unto  death,  the  Re- 
deemer withdrew  a  little  way  from  his  drowsy  disci- 


226  OF    THE    HOLY    ANGELS : 

pies,  and  poured  out  before  his  Father  that  prayer 
which  betokened  the  extreme  death  of  his  humiliation, 
in  submitting  to  endure  the  mortal  anguish  of  human 
fear,  the  fear  of  approaching  death.  Far  be  it  from 
us  to  follow  the  example  of  some  who  would  fain 
pry  into  the  impenetrable  mystery  of  that  hour's  suf- 
fering !  We  are  told  that  it  was  the  hour  of  the  pow- 
ers of  darkness ;  when  the  prince  of  this  world  came 
to  find  that  he  had  nothing  in  the  Son  of  God;  when 
the  supplication  was  wrung  from  the  Redeemer's  lip. 
that  if  it  were  possible  the  cup  might  pass  from  him  : 
yet  qualified  by  the  submissive  addition,  "  Neverthe- 
less, not  my  will,  but  thine  be  done."  Then  it  was 
that  "  there  appeared  an  angel  unto  him,  from  heaven, 
strengthening  him,"  Luke  xxii.  40,  and  what  a  mis- 
sion that  angel  had ! 

The  mind  sinks  under  this  scene ;  not  the  bright 
throng  of  chariots  and  horses  of  fire  that  surrounded 
Elisha  ;  not  the  array  of  seraphim,  seen  by  Isaiah,  giv- 
ing glory  to  the  Lord  of  hosts  ;  not  the  great  multitude 
of  the  heavenly  host  who  appeared  to  celebrate  his  in- 
carnation; not  even  the  party  of  those  who  eame  to 
minister  unto  him  when  Satan  had  departed  ;  but  one 
single  solitary  angel  appeared,  coming  direct  from 
heaven,  from  the  immediate  presence  of  God  the 
Father,  advancing  through  the  gloom  and  stillm 
night,  and  for  what  purpose  ?  to  strengthen  him  from 
whom  all  strength  is  derived  I  We  cannot  tell  of 
what  nature  was  the  strength  conveyed  :  we  have  the 
word,  and  nothing  more;  and  we  know  that,  notwith- 
standing the  strength  thus  imparted,  u  being  in  an  ag- 


CHRIST    SEEN    OF    ANGELS.  227 

ony  he  prayed  more  earnestly,  and  his  sweat  was  as 
it  were  great  drops  of  blood  falling  down  to  the  ground." 
Luke  xxii.  44.  Of  this  spectacle  the  angel  was  a  wit- 
ness :  and  a  witness  he  will  prove  against  such  as  re- 
ject the  salvation  wrought  out  for  them  at  such  a  fear- 
ful price  by  the  Son  of  God  !  We  cannot  pretend  to 
descant  on  this  heart-piercing  scene  :  we  have  it,  in- 
deed, most  clearly  set  forth  for  our  trembling  contem- 
plation, and  deeply  ought  we  to  ponder  it.  The  Lord 
of  hosts,  the  King  of  glory,  prostrated  on  the  earth  that 
he  created,  offering  up  "  prayers  and  supplier, 
with  strong  crying  and  tears,"  Heb.  v.  7,  in  an  agony 
that  wrung  a  bloody  sweat  from  every  pore,  while  one 
of  the  brightest  of  his  creatures,  sent  from  the  invisible 
throne  of  God,  stood  by,  imparting  such  strength  as  he 
was  commissioned  to  bring,  and  beholding  the  sons  of 
men.  for  whom  all  this  was  undergone — unmindful  of 
the  repeated  admonition  to  watch  and  pray,  and  not 
even  sufficiently  alive  in  their  Master's  cause,  at  this 
extreme  point  of  his  distress,  to  watch  with  him  one 
hour — slumbering  at  the  distance  of  a  stone's  cast. 
Surely  this  was  the  lowest  point  of  the  Saviour's  humil- 
iation, when  he  could  accept  strength  from  a  created 
angel :  and  surely  it  ought  also  to  lay  us  in  the  lowest 
depth  of  self-accusing  shame,  that  for  our  grievous  sins 
and  provocations  he  was  so  bruised,  so  put  to  grief; 
while  not  one  of  the  three  especially  selected  out  of  the 
chosen  twelve,  no  not  even  the  beloved  and  loving 
John  had  a  word  of  consolation,  or  a  gesture,  or  a  look 
of  sympathy  to  tender ;  nor  a  movement  of  the  heart 
towards  him  who  could  have  read  its  most  secret  throb. 


228  OF    THE    HOLY    ANGELS : 

All  were  sleeping,  sleeping  indeed  for  sorrow,  but  not 
with  a  sorrow  like  his,  who  was  suffering  for  them. 
It  seems  to  endear  the  holy  angels,  that  one  of  their 
number  should  have  been  found,  seeking  to  soften  that 
unutterable  bitterness  of  our  Master's  grief;  and  to 
strengthen  him,  when  forsaken  of  all  help,  assailed  by 
Satan,  and  with  the  keen  prophetic  anticipation  of  all 
the  morrow's  torments  full  on  his  spirit. 

But  though  only  one  appeared  to  help  him,  many 
were  the  angelic  spectators  of  that  night's  agony.  We 
know  that  Christ  was  "seen  of  angels;"  and  we  can- 
not believe  that  ever,  for  one  moment  of  time,  were 
their  regards  withdrawn  from  him.  There  is  a  re- 
markable passage  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians,  iii. 
9 — 11,  where  the  Apostle  speaks  of  "the  fellowship 
of  the  mystery,  which  from  the  beginning  of  the  world 
hath  been  hid  in  God,  who  created  all  things  by  Jesus, 
Christ ;  to  the  intent  that  now  under  the  principalities'' 
and  powers  in  heavenly  places  might  be  known,  by  the., 
church,  the  manifold  wisdom  of  God,  according  to  tlio 
eternal  purpose  which  he  proposed  in  Christ  Jesus  oun 
Lord."  By  these  principalities  and  powers  in  heav- 
enly places,  the  angels  must  necessarily  be  meant : 
and  the  making  known  to  them  the  manifold  wisdom 
of  God  by  the  church,  seems  no  less  clearly  to  imply 
that  the  contemplation  of  the  adorable  mystery  of  man's 
redemption  by  the  incarnation,  sufferings,  obedience, 
death,  and  resurrection  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  brought 
a  vast  accession  of  the  knowledge  of  the  glory  of  God, 
even  to  the  highest  of  created  intelligences.  To  the 
rebellious,  "the  wicked  spirits  in  high  places,"  was 


CHRIST    SEEN    OF    ANGELS.  229 

thereby  shown  forth  in  dazzling  display,  the  immensity 
of  the  mercy  and  goodness  against  which  they  had 
irretrievably  sinned  ;  and  of  the  wisdom  that  could  de- 
vise, and  the  power  that  could  accomplish  the  restora- 
tion of  man  from  the  ruin  into  which  Satan  had  plung- 
ed him,  in  a  way  perfectly  consistent  with  that  solemn 
declaration,  "  In  the  day  thou  eatest  thereof,  thou 
shalt  surely  die,"  and  with  every  attribute  of  the  Most 
High.  To  the  holy  angels,  who  have  joy  in  the 
presence  of  God  over  every  sinner  that  repenteth,  how 
inexpressibly  beautiful  and  glorious  must  be  this  work 
of  their  Divine  Master.  Theirs  was  a  privilege  to 
behold  him  throughout  every  stage  of  its  arduous  pro- 
gress, and  we  cannot  enter  into  the  deep  feeling,  the 
full  comprehension,  with  which  they  pour  forth  the 
everlasting  song,  "  Worthy  is  the  Lamb  that  was 
slain  !"  It  is  marvelous  how  little  some  excellent 
people  allow  themselves  to  think  about  the  angels,  as 
connected  with  this  theme  :  the  blank  left  in  their  sys- 
tem by  the  omission  of  so  very  rich  a  part  of  God's 
revelation  would,  at  least  to  us,  be  a  very  dreary  one. 
We  could  not  afford  to  forget  that  the  Lord  Jesus  in  all 
that  he  did  and  suffered  for  us  was  watched,  marveled 
at,  and  exceedingly  glorified  by  those  with  whom  we 
look  to  be  hereafter  equal,  but  to  whom  we  are  now  so 
immeasurably  inferior,  that  a  single  individual  among 
them  could,  with  a  movement  of  his  powerful  arm, 
depopulate  this  land ;  or  by  the  brightness  of  his  ap- 
pearance, if  fully  revealed  to  our  sight,  turn,  as 
Daniel  expressed  it,  "  our  comeliness  into  corrup- 
tion." 

20 


230  OF    THE    HOLY    ANGELS : 

It  is  impossible  to  conceive  what  must  have  been  the 
emotions  with  which  the  angelic  host  looked  on,  while 
the  dreadful  work  proceeded  from  the  moment  of  our 
Lord's  agony  in  the  garden,  to  that  of  his  being  taken 
down  from  the  cross.  We  can  hardly  read  those  words, 
"  Thinkest  thou  that  I  cannot  now  pray  to  my  Father, 
and  he  shall  presently  give  me  more  than  ten  legions 
of  angels  ?"  without  fancying  every  flaming  sword 
among  the  listening  myriads  starting  from  its  sheath, 
and  every  countenance  blazing  with  ardour,  to  receive 
the  command.  They  had  witnessed  the  detestable  act 
of  the  mercenary  traitor ;  they  had  seen  Satan  enter 
into  him,  and  lead  him  to  the  guilty  chief  priests,  and 
animate  him  to  grasp  with  avaricious  delight  the 
wretched  bribe,  a  goodly  price  that  they  valued  Him 
at,  whose  is  the  silver,  and  whose  is  the  gold,  and 
whose  is  the  round  world  and  all  that  it  contains !  and 
now  they  beheld  the  wretched  man  conducting  his  mid- 
night band  to  the  garden,  the  scene  of  that  terrible 
agony,  and  that  beauteous  submission  to  the  Father's 
will ;  they  beheld  him  approach  and  salute  his  Divine 
victim ;  they  saw  the  inconstant  Peter,  now  fully 
roused  from  sleep,  fighting  for  him  with  whom  he  would 
not  watch  ;  they  saw  the  bands,  the  cords  and  fetters, 
the  preparation  for  such  horrors,  as  surely  they  could 
not  expect  to  have  beheld  their  heavenly  King  sub- 
jected to;  and  they  heard  those  words  of  conscious 
power  and  majesty,  in  which  he  named  them — them, 
his  own  loyal,  loving  angels,  as  ready  to  appear  to  the 
rescue.  Oh,  what  a  blaze  would  have  burst  upon  that 
night  of  black  darkness,  had  not  Omnipotence  restrained 


CHRIST   SEEN    OF    ANGELS.  231 

the  glowing  legions  !  "  But  how  then  shall  the  Scrip- 
tures be  fulfilled,  that  thus  it  must  be  ?"  added  the  meek 
Saviour,  and  the  thought  of  deliverance  was  past. 
Gabriel  could  not  forget  his  own  message  to  Daniel ; 
the  seventy  weeks  were  accomplished,  and  Messiah 
must  be  cut  off.  Their  intimate  acquaintance  with  all 
that  God  has  revealed,  and  the  sure  confidence  they 
have,  that  whatever  he  hath  spoken  shall  come  to  pass, 
even  as  he  has  said  it,  are  to  the  angels  instead  of  a 
foreknowledge  that  no  creature  may  attain  to  :  and  if 
we  give  the  like  heed  to  what  God  has  declared,  and 
with  the  same  simple  faith  and  plain  understanding  re- 
ceive it,  we  should  find  ourselves  far  better  forewarned 
than  now  we  are  for  the  changes  of  this  worldly  scene, 
and  armed  with  a  more  perfect  submission  to  what 
betides  us. 

The  sad  events  of  that  evening  in  Gethsemane  were 
followed,  as  we  all  know,  by  others  more  terrible  far ; 
and  equally  in  the  Jewish  sanhedrim,  in  Pilate's  house, 
and  Herod's  judgment  hall,  in  the  streets  of  Jerusalem, 
and  on  Calvary,  was  the  Lord  Jesus  "  seen  of  angels." 
They  heard  the  false  witness  borne,  the  infamous  sen- 
tence given ;  they  saw  the  scourging,  the  crowning 
with  a  diadem  of  thorns,  the  reed  placed  in  that  hand, 
which  in  its  protecting  shadow  had  so  long  hidden  the 
house  of  Israel  from  their  foes  !  They  heard  the  scof- 
fing homage  tendered  by  rude,  idolatrous  heathen  sol- 
diers to  Him,  whose  regal  glories  filled  all  heaven  with 
splendour :  they  saw  the  heavy  cross  laid  on  that 
shoulder  where  God  has  laid  the  government  of  all 
created  things ;  and  they  were  constrained  to  witness 


232  OF    THE    HOLY    ANGELS ! 

the  payment  of  that  world's  ransom  in  the  trickling 
drops  that  oozed  from  those  pierced  hands  and  feet. 
The  rocks  were  rent,  but  those  awe-struck  angels  could 
not  if  they  would,  have  burst  the  bonds  of  obedience  to 
the  voice  that  bade  them  be  still :  the  sun  hid  himself, 
but  through  the  darkness  of  that  unnatural  night,  the 
bleeding  Lamb  of  God  was  still  "seen  of  angels." 

Where  were  the  heavenly  hosts,  while  for  the  ap- 
pointed time  the  dead  body  of  Jesus  lay  in  the  sepul- 
chre ?  It  was  a  Jewish  sabbath,  and  it  seems  to  have 
become  a  blank  in  time,  because  the  light  of  the  world 
was  resting  in  the  darkness  of  the  grave.  It  was  passed 
over — the  ordinance  transferred  to  the  next  glorious 
morning  ;  and  ever  since  the  first  day  of  the  week  has 
been  the  Sabbath  of  the  Christian  world. 

But  now  we  shall  find  the  holy  angels  thronging  a 
spot  of  earth,  with  all  their  glowing  characteristics  de- 
veloped in  a  remarkable  manner.  The  suspicious 
murderers  entertained  a  fear  lest  their  Victim  might 
yet  rise  again ;  and  they  obtained  from  the  Roman 
governor  permission  to  seal  the  stone  that  covered  the 
entrance  of  the  sepulchre,  and  to  sot  a  watch  of  sol- 
diers over  it.  The  strict  discipline  of  the  Roman  army 
made  this  a  most  efficient  guard  ;  but  the  debt  was  now 
fully  cancelled.  He  who  had  died  for  our  sins  was  to 
rise  again  for  our  justification  :  death  had  no  more  do- 
minion over  him.  Nothing  in  the  Bible  is  more  splen- 
did than  the  picture  presented  to  the  mind  by  the  very 
brief  recital  of  that  glorious  event.  "And  behold, 
there  was  a  great  earthquake  ;  lor  the  angel  of  the 
Lord  descended   from   heaven,   and  came  and  rolled 


CHRIST    SEEN   OF    ANGELS.  233 

back  the  stone  from  the  door,  and  sat  upon  it.  His 
countenance  was  like  lightning,  and  his  raiment  white 
as  snow ;  and  for  fear  of  him  the  keepers  did  shake, 
and  became  as  dead  men."  Matt,  xxviii.  2,  3.  There 
is  something  very  real  in  this  description — very  much 
opposed  to  the  incorporeality  of  the  angelic  host.  The 
act  of  rolling  away  the  massive  stone  which  the  good 
Joseph  of  Arimathea  had  placed  as  a  security  against 
the  enemies  of  that  sacred  body,  and  which  the  high 
priests  had  farther  made  sure,  and  moreover  sealed  it, 
as  a  barrier  against  his  friends,  and  his  seating  him- 
self upon  it,  we  can  hardly  believe  to  have  been  only 
in  semblance.  The  angel,  the  highly-privileged  an- 
gel, who  was  sent,  or  rather  who  was  permitted  to  rush 
upon  this  enrapturing  service,  seems  to  have  alighted 
upon  earth  with  a  force  that  made  it  quiver ;  and  to 
have  rent  or  spurned  from  its  place  the  stone  that  barred 
the  egress  of  the  Lord  Jesus  from  his  dark  prison.  No 
mortal  eye  beheld  that  egress  ;  the  countenance  of  the 
angel  caused  the  keepers  to  become  as  dead  men : 
knowing  as  they  did  that  any  violation  of  the  seal  upon 
the  stone  would  be  visited  on  them  with  the  extreme  of 
punishment,  they  had  no  power  to  resist ;  they  fell 
prostrate,  rendered  senseless  by  terror ;  and  no  marvel, 
seeing  what  was  the  aspect  of  the  angel.  Our  foolish 
and  improper  habit  of  using  the  most  hyperbolical 
comparisons  on  ordinary  occasions,  deprives  Scripture 
of  much  of  its  due  force.  As  quick  as  lightning,  as 
vivid  as  lightning,  are  expressions  in  ordinary  use 
among  us ;  and  when  we  read  that  the  angel's  coun- 
tenance was  like  lightning,  we  do  not  perhaps  recall 
20* 


234  OF    THE    HOLY    ANGELS : 

one  of  those  terrific  flashes  or  blazes  of  electric  fire, 
from  which  the  boldest  is  constrained  to  avert  his  eyes ; 
and  add  to  it  the  highest  possible  expression  of  intel- 
lectual power.  We  do  not  even  try  to  render  that 
small  measure  of  justice  which  our  very  imperfect  fa- 
culties would  enable  us  to  yield  to  the  might  and  ma- 
jesty of  an  angelic  envoy  from  Him  who  maketh  his 
ministers  a  flaming  fire.  And  we  may  well  believe, 
that  the  triumphant  joy,  the  holy  indignation  of  the 
angel,  who  came  to  open  the  Lord's  sepulchre,  would 
shine  forth  from  his  countenance  with  a  most  heavenly 
radiance.  The  miserable  children  of  the  dust  had  so 
far  been  allowed  to  work  their  wicked  will,  and  Satan, 
utterly  crushed  as  his  head  now  was  through  the  as- 
sumption of  all  power,  both  in  heaven  and  in  earth,  by 
his  almighty  Conqueror,  had  still,  with  his  inferior 
spirits,  an  hour  during  which  they  could  boast  that 
their  conquest  over  vile  man  had  laid  the  Lord  of  life 
in  the  grave.  Very  short,  and  fearfully  embittered 
was  that  season  of  hellish  exultation  ;  but  it  was  enough 
to  rouse  the  keenest  emotions  in  the  breast  of  a  celes- 
tial spirit;  and  we  may  be  assured,  that  when  the 
longed-for  command  was  issued,  and  the  waiting  angel 
sped  his  way  to  the  garden  of  Joseph,  the  poor,  wretched 
soldiers  of  Rome  engaged  but  little  of  his  attention, 
fixed  as  it  must  have  been  on  the  baffling  of  the  malice 
of  Satan.  Not  against  the  miserable  sinners  of  earth, 
the  poor  heathen  slaves  who  occupied  an  assigned  post 
at  the  sepulchre,  did  the  lightning  of  his  countenance 
flash  forth  ;  but  against  those  hostile  legions  who  had 
wrought  so  much  wo ;  against  him  who,   having  had 


CHRIST   SEEN   OF   ANGELS.  235 

the  power  of  death,  was  now  virtually  destroyed  by  the 
dying  of  the  Lord  Jesus. 

Although  only  one  angel  is  named  as  having  exe- 
cuted this  commission,  we  know  that  many  were  pres- 
ent. No  mortal  was  found  worthy  to  witness  that 
greatest  event  that  creation  ever  viewed — the  rising 
of  the  Son  of  God  from  the  tomb  ;  but  "  seen  of  angels" 
it  unquestionably  was  ;  and  they  seem  to  have  become 
visible  under  different  circumstances,  singly  or  not,  to 
the  individuals  who  came  to  the  sepulchre.  Thus  we 
find  that  the  angel  who  in  the  sight  of  the  keepers  sat 
upon  the  stone  which  he  had  just  rolled  away,  was  not 
found  there  by  the  women,  but,  finding  the  stone  rolled 
away,  "  and  entering  into  the  sepulchre,  they  saw  a 
young  man  sitting  on  the  right  side,  clothed  in  a  long 
white  garment ;  and  they  were  affrighted.  And  he  saith 
unto  them,  Be  not  affrighted:  Ye  seek  Jesus  of  Naza- 
reth, which  was  crucified :  he  is  risen ;  he  is  not  here  : 
behold  the  place  where  they  laid  him.  But  go  your 
way  :  tell  his  disciples  and  Peter  that  he  goeth  before 
you  into  Galilee :  there  shall  ye  see  him,  as  he  said 
unto  you."  Mark  xvi.  5 — 7.  Here  we  read  of  no 
lightning,  nothing  to  terrify :  the  angel's  aspect  is  that 
of  a  young  man,  and  his  words  full  of  gentleness  and 
peace.  He  speaks  as  one  intimately  acquainted  with 
all  that  so  thrillingly  interested  them  :  he  refers  to  what 
had  been  spoken  to  them  by  their  Lord ;  and  Peter, 
whose  heart  was  still  writhing  under  the  conscious 
guilt  of  his  denial,  is  particularly  named,  to  assure  him 
of  his  being  still  included  among  the  beloved  followers 
of  the  Lord. 


236  OF    THE    HOLY    ANGELS  '. 

Again,  when  Mary  Magdalen  was  there  alone  in- 
dulging  her  grief,  "  as  she  wept,  she  stooped  down,  and 
looked  into  the  sepulchre,  and  seeth  two  angels  in  white, 
sitting,  the  one  at  the  head,  and  the  other  at  the  feet, 
where  the  body  of  Jesus  had  lain.  And  they  say  unto 
her,  Woman,  why  weepest  thou  ?  She  saith  unto 
them,  Because  they  have  taken  away  my  Lord,  and  I 
know  not  where  they  have  laid  him."  John  xx.  11 — 13. 
It  seems  as  though  the  angel,  knowing  how  often  our 
Lord  had  spoken  of  his  resurrection  from  the  dead, 
marveled  how  any  one  who  loved  him  could  weep  at 
the  evident  fulfilment  of  that  glorious  prediction. 

During  the  forty  days  of  our  Lord's  farther  contin- 
uance on  earth,  we  may  be  assured  that  he  was  still 
"  seen  of  angels,"  who  surrounded  his  path,  adoring 
him,  ministering  unto  him,  and  eagerly  looking  forward 
to  the  moment  when  they  should  escort  him  to  his 
throne  above,  with  the  rejoicing  song,  "  Lift  up  your 
heads,  O  ye  gates,  and  be  ye  lifted  up,  ye  everlasting 
doors,  and  the  King  of  Glory  shall  come  in !"  Those 
forty  days  that  intervened  between  the  rising  again  and 
the  ascension  into  heaven  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  were  a 
precious  type  of  the  coming  time,  when  earth  shall 
once  more  enjoy  the  presence  of  her  heavenly  King, 
and  bask  in  the  brightness  of  his  divine  glory,  while 
angels  tread  her  peaceful  surface,  and  that  which  is 
now  but  a  howling  wilderness  of  sin,  shall  blossom 
like  a  rose,  and  become  as  the  garden  of  Eden.  May 
the  Lord  hasten  that*  day,  when  his  children,  no  longer 
buffeted  by  messengers  of  Satan,  and  pining  for  com- 
munion with  Tlim,  too  often  in  vain  through  the  abound- 


CHRIST    SEEN    OF    ANGELS.  237 

ing  of  temptations,  and  the  deep  knowledge  and  sub- 
tlety  of  those  with  whom  they  must  continually  wrestle, 
shall  serve  him  without  fear,  while  dwelling  in  the 
presence  of  his  millennial  glory  ! 


VIII. 

THE  APOSTLES  A  SPECTACLE  TO  ANGELS. 

It  is  a  remarkable  circumstance,  that  whereas  we  do 
not  read  of  any  visible  interposition  of  angels  in  the 
affairs  of  men,  as  ministering  spirits,  until  after  the  call 
of  Abraham,  and  the  promise  to  him  of  Christ  as  his 
seed,  or,  to  the  very  last,  with  the  single  exception  of 
Cornelius  the  centurion,  all  to  whom  we  are  told  they 
appeared  in  that  capacity,  were  of  Abraham's  race. 
We  are  fully  assured,  that  to  every  child  of  God  they 
render  the  same  offices  of  love  and  care  as  to  the  an- 
cient people  of  the  Lord  ;  but,  together  with  the  Jewish 
dispensation,  under  which  we  include  the  Church  of 
the  circumcision  in  Judoa,  up  to  the  final  scattering 
of  the  people,  ended  the  personal  intercourse  of  angeli 
with  the  children  of  men  in  the  flesh  ;  and  those  con- 
cerning whom  we  are  now  to  speak,  were  Jews. 

When  our  Lord  was  about  to  ascend  into  heaven, 
his  disciples,  true  to  their  national  feelings  and  scrip- 
tural expectations,  asked  him,  "Lord,  wilt  thou  at  this 
time  restore  again  the  kingdom  unto  Israel  ?"  But  that 
period  was  yet  far  distant,  and  he  answered  thorn,  "It 
is  not  for  you  to  know  the  times  or  the  seasons  which 
my  Father  hath  put  in  Ids  own  power."    Acts  i.  (i.  7. 


THE   APOSTLES  A  SPECTACLE    TO    ANGELS.        239 

It  was  enough  that  the  promise  had  been  given,  and  that 
the  restoration  of  the  kingdom  of  Israel  was  sure  ;  but 
a  militant,  not  a  triumphant  church,  was  that  of  which 
they  were  to  be  constituted  pillars  ;  and  they  must  sow 
in  tears,  in  humiliations,  persecutions,  afflictions,  and 
distresses,  the  great  harvest  to  be  reaped  when  the  King 
should  come,  and  all  his  saints  with  him,  to  that  re- 
stored kingdom. 

The  Lord  was  parted  from  them ;  a  cloud  received 
him  up  out  of  their  sight ;  but  they  were  loath  to  be- 
lieve he  was  indeed  gone.  Knowing  him  of  a  certainty 
as  their  Messiah,  and  also  knowing  that  their  Messiah 
would  assuredly  be  a  deliverer,  a  prince,  a  ruler,  over 
the  Jewish  nation  in  particular,  while  his  dominion 
should  extend  throughout  the  whole  earth,  they  who 
had  now  seen  the  great  work  of  man's  redemption  per- 
fected, looked  for  the  glorious  sequel,  of  which  they 
knew  that  a  leading  sign  would  be  the  restoration  of 
the  kingdom  of  Israel.  They  seem  to  have  expected 
that  he  would  no  longer  delay  this  great  consumma- 
tion, but  fulfil  now  his  own  and  his  Father's  repeated 
promise  ;  and  the  ascension  of  their  Lord  left  them  very 
desolate,  disappointed,  perhaps  shaken  in  faith.  "  They 
looked  steadfastly  toward  heaven  as  he  went  up  ;"  and 
from  the  context  we  may  infer,  that  their  feeling  was 
one  of  dread  and  dismay.  Can  he  have  forsaken  us  ? 
Is  Israel  not  to  be  gathered  ?  will  he  not  even  now  re- 
lent, and  return  and  finish  the  mighty  work  ?  or  can 
it  be  that  we  have  suffered  so  many  things  in  vain,  and 
are  now  left  to  mourn  a  hope  that  has  mocked  us  ? 
must  we  take  up  the  language  of  Jeremiah,  and  say 


240  OF    THE     HOLY    ANGELS  ! 

"  O,  the  hope  of  Israel,  the  Saviour  thereof,  why  should- 
est  thou  be  as  a  stranger  in  the  land,  and  as  a  way- 
faring man,  that  turneth  aside  to  tarry  for  the 
night  ?  Why  shouldest  thou  be  as  a  man  aston- 
ished, as  a  mighty  man  that  cannot  save  ?  yet  thou,  O 
Lord,  art  in  the  midst  of  us,  and  we  are  called  by  thy 
name ;  leave  us  not."  Jer.  xiv.  8,  9.  That  their  se- 
cret thoughts  were  of  this  complexion  we  have  every 
reason  to  suppose  from  what  follows :  "  And  while  they 
looked  steadfastly  toward  heaven  as  he  went  up,  be- 
hold, two  men  stood  by  them  in  white  apparel ;  which 
also  said,  Ye  men  of  Galilee,  why  stand  ye  gazing  up 
into  heaven?  This  same  Jesus,  which  is  taken  up  from 
you  into  heaven,  shall  so  come  in  like  manner  as  ye 
have  seen  him  go  into  heaven."  Acts  i.  10,  11.  To 
gaze  after  their  Lord,  to  keep  their  eyes  fixed  on  that 
spot  whither  He,  their  only  help  in  time,  their  only 
hope  in  eternity,  was  gone,  and  to  contemplate  the  path- 
way by  which  He,  their  forerunner,  had  even  then  en- 
tered beyond  the  veil,  to  appear  in  the  presence  of 
God  for  them,  was  surely  natural  and  seemly :  but 
their  feeling  was  probably  so  far  tinctured  with  dismay 
and  doubt,  as  to  call  forth  the  gentle  remonstrance  of 
these  two  angels,  who  lingered  behind  their  fellows  to 
bear  a  message  of  consolation  to  the  perplexed  disci- 
ples, that  should  be  for  the  encouragement  of  the 
Church  until  the  Lord  come. 

After  this  we  have  many  instances  of  the  care  and 
diligence  with  which  the  angels  fulfilled  their  ministry 
to  the  Church  in  Jerusalem.  When  the  apostles,  by 
their  preaching  and  miracles,  had  so  roused  the  indig- 


THE    APOSTLES  A    SPECTACLE    TO    ANGELS.  241 

nation  of  the  high  priest  and  the  Sadducees,  that  they 
laid  hands  on  them,  and  put  them  in  the  common  prison, 
"  the  angel  of  the  Lord  by  night  opened  the  prison- 
doors,  and  brought  them  forth,  and  said,  Go,  stand  and 
speak  in  the  temple  to  the  people  all  the  words  of  this 
life."  Acts  v.  19,  20.  This  deliverance  was  wrought 
in  so  quiet  a  manner,  that  no  one  was  aware  of  it  until 
the  next  day :  the  doors  were  shut,  and  the  keepers 
standing  before  them  when  the  officers  came,  who 
were  sent  to  bring  the  prisoners  before  their  cruel  and 
unjust  judges.  Yet  even  this  marked  deliverance  had 
no  effect  on  the  hardened  opposers  of  God's  word ; 
all,  save  Gamaliel,  were  disposed  to  slay  them,  and 
when,  by  God's  providence,  that  was  overruled,  they 
were  beaten  and  threatened,  and  commanded  to  speak 
no  more  in  the  name  of  Jesus.  In  the  beautiful  narra- 
tive of  Stephen,  no  mention  is  made  of  angelic  ministry, 
although  we  cannot  doubt  that  they  surrounded  on  all 
sides  the  heavenward  steps  of  the  protomartyr ;  but  in 
the  persecution  that  followed  his  death,  we  find  them 
actively  employed  in  aiding  the  spread  of  the  gospel. 
"  The  angel  of  the  Lord  spake  unto  Philip,  saying, 
Arise  and  go  toward  the  south,  unto  the  way  that  goeth 
down  from  Jerusalem  unto  Gaza  which  is  desert." 
Acts  viii.  26.  This  embassy  was  for  the  conversion 
of  the  Ethiopian,  who  was  evidently  a  proselyte  to 
Judaism  ;  but  soon  another  Gentile  was  to  be  brought 
into  the  fold,  a  Pagan,  and  one  holding  a  command  that 
would,  of  necessity,  often  render  him  liable  to  act  as 
an  enemy  against  the  Lord's  people.  He  was,  how- 
ever, a  sincere  believer  in  God,  as  the  creator  and 
21 


242  OF    THE    HOLY    ANGELS : 

preserver  of  men  ;  and  He  who  has  said,  "  Unto  him 
that  hath  it  shall  be  given,  and  he  shall  have  more 
abundantly,"  was  now  to  be  revealed  to  him,  as  the  Re- 
deemer, the  merits  of  whose  all-sufficient  sacrifice  ren- 
dered the  prayers  and  alms  of  the  devout  Roman  offi- 
cer acceptable  before  God.  Being  in  Cesarea,  "he 
saw  in  a  vision  evidently  about  the  ninth  hour  of  the 
day,  an  angel  of  God  coming  in  to  him,  and  saying 
unto  him,  Cornelius.  And  when  he  looked  on  him  he 
was  afraid,  and  said,  What  is  it,  Lord  ?  and  he  said 
unto  him,  thy  prayers  and  thine  alms  are  come  up  for 
a  memorial  before  God.  And  now  send  men  to  Joppa, 
and  call  for  one  Simon,  whose  surname  is  Peter ;  he 
lodgeth  with  one  Simon  a  tanner,  whose  house  is  by 
the  seaside  :  he  shall  tell  thee  what  thou  oughtest  to 
do."  Acts  x.  3 — 6.  Thus,  by  angelic  ministry,  were 
the  Gentiles  first  called  into  a  participation  with  the 
children  of  Israel  in  the  rich  blessings  and  privileges 
of  the  Gospel. 

It  is  indeed  customary  to  date  that  event  from  the 
visit  of  the  eastern  wise  men  to  Bethlehem  ;  but  con- 
cerning them,  Scripture  tells  us  nothing  ;  and  it  is  quite 
as  probable,  that  they  were  descendants  from  some  of 
the  scattered  tribes  as  thai  they  were  of  Gentile  origin. 
Respecting  Cornelius,  no  doubt  exists  :  the  summons 
sent  to  Peter  by  the  angel's  direction,  was  the  immedi- 
ate cause  of  breaking  down  the  middle  wall  of  partition; 
God  showed  that  unto  the  Gentiles  too  he  bad  granted 
repentance  unto  life  ;  salvation  was  of  the  Jews;  but 
through  their  mercy  all  nations  of  the  world,  "all  the 
families  of  the  earth,"  were  to  obtain  mercy.     Hence- 


THE    APOSTLES   A  SPECTACLE    TO  ANGELS.  243 

forth  it  was  seen,  that  in  Christ  Jesus,  neither  circum- 
cision availeth  anything,  nor  uncircumcision.  The  na- 
tional promises  remain  firm,  unbroken,  unrecalled,  and 
shall  be,  to  their  fullest  extent,  most  gloriously  fulfilled 
to  the  whole  house  of  Jacob  ;  the  land  of  Canaan,  the 
city  of  Jerusalem,  shall  be  theirs,  in  full,  exclusive, 
unalienable  possession  ;  but  every  spiritual  advantage 
becomes  alike  the  property  of  the  believer,  of  whatso- 
ever name,  or  blood,  or  nation  he  be.  In  Christ  Jesus, 
there  is  neither  male  nor  female  :  the  woman's  natural 
position  is  still  that  of  subordination  :  she  is  commanded 
to  obey,  to  honour  the  man,  to  call  him  lord,  to  rever- 
ence her  husband,  and  to  learn  in  silence  with  all  sub- 
jection ;  but  in  Christ  Jesus  her  privileges  are  precise- 
ly the  same  as  his  :  equally  a  child  of  God,  equally  an 
heir  of  salvation,  equal  with  the  man  and  with  the  an- 
gels too,  in  the  resurrection  from  the  dead.  So  with 
Jew  and  Gentile  ;  the  former  has  a  rank,  a  headship, 
a  precedence,  not  to  be  done  away  with,  as  regards 
present  things,  only  held  back  from  him  so  long  as  he 
withholds  his  fealty  from  his  promised  Messiah  ;  but 
this  is  an  earthly  distinction ;  and  in  Christ  Jesus — 
that  is,  in  the  full  participation  of  all  the  blessings 
promised  to  believers,  as  there  is  neither  male  nor 
female,  so  is  there  neither  Jew  nor  Gentile.  The  wo- 
man does  not,  on  embracing  the  Gospel,  become  a  man, 
nor  the  Gentile  a  Jew.  Much  confusion  exists,. per- 
plexing and  misleading  good  people  on  this  point. 
The  Lord's  returning  mercy  to  Israel  will  speedily 
clear  it  up :  but  it  is  very  desirable  to  see  it  correctly 
now. 


244  OF    THE    HOLY    ANGELS : 

■  Cornelius,  in  relating  to  Peter  the  cause  of  his  send- 
ing for  him,  says,  "  A  man  stood  before  me  in  bright 
clothing."  Some  supernatural  radiancy  surrounded 
the  celestial  messenger,  that  even  in  the  light  of  mid- 
day so  shone  as  to  make  the  bold  soldier  afraid.  It  is 
a  strange  and  sad  proof  of  our  conscious  impurity,  that 
it  makes  us  shrink  back  from  what  is  glorious  and 
lovely,  as  though  it  could  have  no  fellowship  with  us, 
but  must  regard  us  with  displeasure.  Such  was  not 
man's  nature  when  God  originally  created  him  ;  such 
it  will  not  be  when,  being  saved  by  faith,  he  has  at- 
tained to  the  resurrection,  and  put  on  the  glorified 
body  that  claims  an  equality  with  the  angels  in 
heaven. 

The  next  appearance  of  one  of  these  ministering 
spirits  is  on  an  occasion  of  surpassing  interest.  James, 
the  brother  of  John,  had  been  slain  with  the  sword,  and 
Herod  perceiving  it  pleased  the  Jews,  then,  alas ! 
given  over  to  a  reprobate  mind,  proceeded  to  take  Pe- 
ter also.  The  experience  which  they  already  had  of 
the  Apostle's  marvelous  escapes  from  persecuting 
hands,  seems  to  have  rendered  them  very  cautious,  for 
no  fewer  than  four  quarternions  of  Roman  warriors 
were  considered  a  sufficient  guard  for  this  poor,  fetter- 
ed Galilean  fisherman.  But  all  the  power  of  Rome, 
in  that  her  proudest  day,  was  of  no  avail  against  the 
mighty  weapon  wielded  on  the  prisoner's  behalf;  for 
"  prayer  was  made  without  ceasing  of  the  Church  unto 
God  for  him."  "  And  when  Herod  would  have  brought 
him  forth,  the  same  night  Peter  was  sleeping  between 
two  soldiers,  bound  with  two  chains :  and  the  keepers 


THE  APOSTLES  A  SPECTACLE  TO  ANGELS.    245 

before  the  door  kept  the  prison."  Acts  xii.  5,  6.  The 
two  soldiers,  it  would  seem,  were  asleep,  as  well  as 
their  captive ;  and  the  fetters  that  bound  him  were  so 
secured  to  them  that  he  could  not  possibly  have  moved 
from  his  place  without  rousing  them.  "  And  behold, 
the  angel  of  the  Lord  came  upon  him,  and  a  light 
shined  in  the  prison  ;  and  he  smote  Peter  on  the  side,  and 
raised  him  up,  saying,  Arise  up  quickly.  And  his 
chains  fell  off  from  his  hands.  And  the  angel  said 
unto  him,  Gird  thyself,  and  bind  on  thy  sandals :  and 
so  he  did.  And  he  saith  unto  him,  Cast  thy  garment 
about  thee,  and  follow  me.  And  he  went  out,  and 
followed  him  ;  and  wist  not  that  it  was  true  which  was 
done  by  the  angel,  but  thought  he  saw  a  vision.  When 
they  were  past  the  first  and  second  wards,  they  came 
unto  the  iron  gate  that  leadeth  unto  the  city ;  which 
opened  to  them  of  his  own  accord  :  and  they  went  out, 
and  passed  on  through  one  street ;  and  forthwith  the 
angel  departed  from  him.  And  when  Peter  was  come 
to  himself,  he  said,  Now  I  know  of  a  surety,  that  the 
Lord  hath  sent  his  angel,  and  hath  delivered  me  out 
of  the  hand  of  Herod,  and  from  all  the  expectation  of 
the  people  of  the  Jews."  Acts  xii.  7 — 11.  The  pow- 
er of  the  angelic  deliverer,  in  this  instance,  is  very 
strikingly  set  forth  ;  and  the  tangibility  of  the  whole 
event  is  directly  opposed  to  a  mere  vision.  The  angel 
smote  Peter  on  the  side  to  rouse  him  from  sleep ;  and 
though  the  unlocking  of  the  fetters  from  his  hands, 
and  of  the  great  gate  of  the  prison,  seems  to  have  been 
an  act  of  God's  sovereign  will,  without  any  instru- 
mentality, it  is  impossible  to  regard  the  angel,  in  this 
21* 


246  OF    THE    HOLY    ANGELS: 

case,  as  a  mere  seeming,  an  incorporeal  essence,  not 
seen  by  the  bodily,  but  the  mental  or  spiritual  eyes  of 
the  Apostle. 

Not  long  after  this,  vengeance  overtook  the  cruel  ty- 
rant, who  had  hoped  to  glut  his  own  and  the  people's 
'thirst  for  blood  by  slaying  Peter.  We  read,  "  Upon  a 
set  day  Herod  arrayed  in  royal  apparel,  sat  upon  his 
throne,  and  made  an  oration  unto  them.  And  the  peo- 
ple gave  a  shout  saying,  It  is  the  voice  of  a  god,  and 
not  of  a  man.  And  immediately  the  angel  of  the  Lord 
smote  him,  because  he  gave  not  God  glory  :  and  he 
was  eaten  of  worms,  and  gave  up  the  ghost."  Acts 
xii.  21 — 23.  Probably  the  same  angel  who  delivered 
Peter,  might  be  commissioned  to  execute  this  punish- 
ment on  the  persecutor  of  the  Church  ;  but  by  what- 
ever hand  the  judgment  came,  it  was  a  solemn  warn- 
ing to  men  ;  and  seeing  how  the  angels  rendered  praise 
to  the  Most  High,  in  the  hearing  of  John,  for  the  appro- 
priateness of  his  retributive  visitation,  we  may  well 
believe  that  every  spectacle  of  chastisement  inflicted  on 
sinners  is  a  call  for  renewed  thankfulness  and  praise 
on  the  part  of  the  angels  who  have  been  kept  faithful 
to  their  heavenly  King,  while  others  fell  into  guilt  and 
terrible  condemnation.  "  By  the  Church,"  they  learn 
a  vast  deal  that  redounds  to  the  glory  of  God,  and  to 
their  own  encouragement  in  the  path  of  obedience* 
When  Paul,  oppressed  by  the  multitude  of  trials,  wrote 
those  words  to  the  arm-ant  Church  of  Corinth  pulled 
up  with  their  gifts — "  I  think  that  God  hath  set  forth  us 
the  Apostles  last,  as  it  were  appointed  to  death  :  for 
we  are  made  a  spectacle  unto  the  world,  and  to  angels, 


THE   APOSTLES   A    SPECTACLE   TO   ANGELS.  247 

and  to  men :  we  are  fools  for  Christ's  sake,  but  ye  are 
wise  in  Christ ;  we  are  weak,  but  ye  are  strong ;  ye 
are  honourable,  but  we  are  despised :  even  unto  this 
present  hour  we  both  hunger,  and  thirst,  and  are  naked, 
and  are  buffeted,  and  have  no  certain  dwelling-place  ; 
and  labour,  working  with  our  own  hands :  being  re- 
viled, we  bless  ;  being  persecuted,  we  suffer  it ;  being 
defamed,  we  entreat ;  we  are  made  as  the  filth  of  the 
world,  and  are  the  offscouring  of  all  things  unto  this 
day,"  (1  Cor.  iv.  9 — 13,) — when  he  wrote  these  words, 
he  described  the  means  by  which  God  was  at  that 
time  instructing  not  only  the  world  and  the  Church, 
but  the  angels  in  heaven.  The  spectacle  of  such  suf- 
ferings, combined  with  such  constancy,  patience,  zeal, 
and  love,  was  redounding  to  the  glory  of  God,  who  out 
of  the  pitiable  weakness  of  frail  and  fallen  humanity, 
made  strong  his  servants,  and  provided  that  his  Son 
who  had  been  "  seen  of  angels,"  should  be  so  effectu- 
ally "preached  to  the  Gentiles,"  that  he  was  believed 
on  in  the  world.  His  manifold  wisdom  was  made 
known  even  to  the  principalities  of  heaven,  by  render- 
ing the  most  foolish  things  of  earth  sufficient  to  baffle 
all  the  cunning,  and  to  tread  under  foot  all  the  powers 
of  hell.  Angelic  ministry  was  indeed  sometimes  em- 
ployed, as  if  to  remind  the  suffering  disciples,  how 
much  sympathy  existed  towards  them  in  the  unseen 
world,  when  often  on  earth  no  man  stood  by  them ; 
but  in  general  the  Lord  wrought  towards  them  and  in 
them  of  his  own  sovereign,  direct  power ;  while  the 
angelic  host  looked  on  and  adorned  his  condescending 
mercy  to  the  children  of  the  dust. 


248  or  THE  holy  angels: 

We  have  one  more  instance  on  record  of  the  actuffl 
appearance  of  an  angel  to  the  favoured  Apostle  of  the 
Gentiles ;  and  that  is  on  an  occasion  of  peril  so  wild, 
and  destitution  so  entire,  that  imagination  can  scarcely 
picture  anything  beyond  it.     Paul,  having  escaped  the 
hands  of  the  Jews  at  Jerusalem,  and  endured  an  im- 
prisonment of  more  than  two   years  at  Cesarea,  was 
at  length  shipped  for  Italy,  that  he  might,  as  the  Lord 
had  shown  him   in  a  vision,   bear  witness  of  Him   in 
Rome  also.  A  tedious  voyage,  the  latter  part  of  which 
was  undertaken  against  the  prophetic  warning  of  Paul, 
brought  them  at  length  into  the  most  imminent  danger  : 
they  were  tossed  helplessly  on  a  tempestuous  sea,  in  a 
great  storm  of  such  long  continuance,  that  for  fourteen 
days  the  mariners  had  not  even  found  time  or  spirits  to 
eat,  and  all  were  reduced  to  utter  despair,  the  prisoner 
Paul  stood  forth,  and  after  gently  rebuking  them  for 
despising  his  former  caution,  went  on,  "  And  now  I  ex- 
hort  you  to  be  of  good  cheer  ;  for  there  shall  be  no  loss 
of  any  man's  life  among  you,  but  of  the  ship.     For 
there  stood  by  me  this  night  the  angel  of  God,  whose  I 
am,  and  whom  I  serve,  saying,  Fear  not,  Paul  ;  thou 
must  be  brought  before  C;csar  :  and  lo,  God  hath  given 
thee  all  them  that  sail  with  thee,  wherefore,  sirs,  be  of 
good  cheer:  for  I  believe  God  that  it  shall  be  eten  as 
it  was  told  me."    Acts  xxvii.  *2'2 — 25. 

With  the  narrative  of  this  gracious  deliverance,  and 
Paul's  subsequent  abode  at  Rome,  a  chained  and 
guarded  captive,  the  Inspired  history  of  the  early 
church  concludes.  Very  shortly  after  this  its  first  age, 
corruptions  crept  in,  and  nun  were  so  ready  to  forge 


THE    APOSTLES   A  SPECTACLE    TO    ANGELS.  249 

the  seal  of  God's  authority  for  their  own  vain  imagin- 
ings, that  in  the  absence  of  the  original  stamp,  we  have 
no  warrant  for  giving  credence  to  any  recorded  inter- 
position from  above.  Such  may  have  been  vouchsafed  ; 
but  if  we  cannot  now  invalidate,  neither  can  we  au- 
thenticate it,  and  we  leave  off  where  the  Lord  saw 
good  to  close  the  testimony  of  what  is  past ;  we  have 
only  to  notice  what  is  yet  to  come. 


IX. 


ANGELIC   MINISTRATIONS  IN  THE  LAST 
DAYS. 

For  many  hundreds  of  years  our  earth  has  been  un- 
visited  by  angels,  so  far  as  the  testimony  of  man's 
bodily  senses  is  concerned ;  but  the  same  faith  by 
which  we  know  that  the  worlds  were  made,  that  faith 
which  is  the  evidence  of  things  not  seen,  assures  us  that 
with  unremitting  care  and  tenderness,  the  ministering 
spirits  of  heaven  minister  unto  them  that  shall  be  heirs 
of  salvation;  and  our  daily  experience  bears  testimony 
that  on  many  an  occasion  where  dangers  the  most 
menacing  have  beset  our  path,  or  difficulties  the  most 
bewildering  have  perplexed  it,  we  have  had  reason  to 
confess  with  gladness  of  heart  that  "the  angel  of  the 
Lord  encampeth  about  them  that  fear  him.  and  de- 
livereth  them."  In  how  many  instances  this  occurs 
where  we  never  are  conscious  of  having  escaped  a 
perilous,  or  struck  into  a  safe  path  in  time  of  danger, 
through  the  watchfulness  of  our  unseen  friends,  we 
shall  perhaps  learn  when  admitted  into  their  happy 
fellowship  forever. 


ANGELIC    MINISTRATIONS  IN  THE    LAST  DAYS.      251 

But  the  time  approaches  when  a  great  multitude  of 
the  heavenly  host  is  again  openly  to  visit  earth,  attend- 
ants on  the  triumphant  state  of  Him  whose  lowly  birth 
in  a  stable  once  brought. to  men's  ears  their  hymns  of 
thanksgiving  to  God.  As  the  end  of  this  dispensation 
draws  nigh,  we  are  taught  to  expect  that  the  angels 
will  take  an  exceedingly  active  part  in  what  is  going 
forward  ;  and,  first,  we  may  refer  to  our  Lord's  dis- 
courses on  this  subject.  In  explaining  the  parable  of 
the  tares  and  the  wheat,  he  says,  "  The  harvest  is  the 
end  of  the  world,  and  the  reapers  are  the  angels.  As 
therefore  the  tares  are  gathered  and  burned  in  the  fire  ; 
so  shall  it  be  in  the  end  of  this  world  :  the  Son  of  Man 
shall  send  forth  his  angels,  and  they  shall  gather  out 
of  his  kingdom  all  things  that  offend,  and  them  that  do 
iniquity,  and  shall  cast  them  into  a  furnace  of  fire  : 
there  shall  be  wailing  and  gnashing  of  teeth."  Matt, 
xiii.  39 — 42.  On  another  occasion,  when  speaking 
not  in  parables,  but  in  a  strain  of  prophetic  description, 
our  Lord  also  showed  the  office  reserved  for  the  angels 
in  reference  to  his  own  people.  "  And  there  shall  ap- 
pear the  sign  of  the  Son  of  Man  in  heaven :  and  then 
shall  all  the  tribes  of  the  earth  mourn,  and  they  shall 
see  the  Son  of  Man  coming  in  the  clouds  of  heaven, 
with  power  and  great  glory  :  and  he  shall  send  his  an- 
gels with  a  great  sound  of  a  trumpet,  and  they  shall 
gather  together  his  elect,  from  the  four  winds,  from  one 
end  of  heaven  to  the  other."  Matt.  xxiv.  30,  31.  This 
"  great  sound  of  a  trumpet  "  is  also  mentioned  by  St. 
Paul,  1  Thess.  iv.  16.  "For  the  Lord  himself  shall 
descend  from  heaven  with  a  shout,  with  the  voice  of 


252  OF   THE    HOLY    ANGELS  I 

the  archangel  and  the  trump  of  God."  The  two- fold 
office  of  gathering  together  the  elect,  and  of  gathering 
out  all  that  do  iniquity,  is  likewise  set  forth  very 
strongly  in  the  Revelation :  "  And  I  saw  another  an- 
gel ascending  from  the  east,  having  the  seal  of  the  liv- 
ing God :  and  he  cried  with  a  loud  voice  to  the  four 
angels,  to  whom  it  was  given  to  hurt  the  earth  and  the 
sea,  saying,  Hurt  not  the  earth,  neither  the  sea,  nor 
the  trees,  till  we  have  sealed  the  servants  of  our  God 
in  their  foreheads."  Rev.  vii.  2,  3.  But  a  more  re- 
markable parallel  appears  in  another  part,  where  the 
time  referred  to  is  evidently  the  same  with  that  spoken 
of  by  our  Lord,  namely,  the  end  of  the  present  dispen- 
sation. We  have  there  a  harvest,  first  of  the  Lord's 
elect,  then  of  his  enemies.  "And  I  looked,  and  be- 
hold, a  white  cloud,  and  upon  the  cloud  one  sat  like 
unto  the  Son  of  Man,  having  on  his  head  a  golden 
crown,  and  in  his  hand  a  sharp  sickle.  And  another 
angel  came  out  of  the  temple,  crying  with  a  loud  voice 
to  him  that  sat  on  the  cloud,  Thrust  in  thy  sickle  and 
reap ;  for  the  time  is  come  for  thee  to  reap ;  for  the 
harvest  of  the  earth  is  ripe.  And  he  that  sat  on  the 
cloud  thrust  in  his  sickle  on  the  earth ;  and  the  earth 
was  reaped."  Rev.  xiv.  14 — 1G.  This  is  clearly  the 
gathering  in  of  the  wheat — the  elect ;  the  Lord's  har- 
vest of  his  redeemed  people.  What  immediately  fol- 
lows corresponds  with  the  destruction  of  the  tares. 
"  And  another  angel  came  out  of  the  temple  which  is 
in  heaven,  he  also  having  a  sharp  sickle  :  and  another 
angel  came  out  from  the  altar,  which  had  power  over 
fire,  and  cried   with  a  loud  cry  to  him  that  had  the 


ANGELIC  MINISTRATIONS  IN  THE  LAST   DAYS.      253 

sharp  sickle,  saying,  Thrust  in  thy  sharp  sickle,  and 
gather  the  clusters  of  the  vine  of  the  earth ;  for  her 
grapes  are  fully  ripe.  And  the  angel  thrust  in  his 
sickle  into  the  earth,  and  gathered  the  vine  of  the 
earth,  and  cast  it  into  the  great  wine-press  of  the  wrath 
of  God."  Verse  17—19. 

Again,  while  three  unclean  spirits  go  forth  from  the 
mouths  of  the  dragon,  the  beast,  and  the  false  prophet, 
unto  the  kings  of  the  earth  and  of  the  whole  world,  to 
gather  them  to  the  battle  of  that  great  day  of  God  Al- 
mighty, we  find  it  is  an  angel  who  loudly  summons  all 
the  fowls  of  heaven  to  gather  themselves  together  to  eat 
the  flesh  of  these  rebellious  kings,  their  captains,  and 
their  hosts."  Rev.  xvi.  13,  14;  and  xix.  17,  18. 

From  all  this  we  may  certainly  infer  that  in  every 
event  connected  with  the  final  triumph  of  the  church, 
and  discomfiture  of  her  foes,  angelic  agency  will  be 
employed  to  a  very  great  extent.  Even  if  it  were  ad- 
mitted that  we  must  view  symbolically  what  is  said  of 
the  angels  in  the  mysterious  book  last  quoted,  (which 
we  do  not  admit,)  we  cannot  suppose  that  our  Lord  also 
spoke  in  a  figure.  So  far  from  it,  the  "wheat"  and 
the  "  tares  "  and  the  "  reapers  "  were  figurative,  but 
the  "  children  of  the  kingdom,"  the  "  children  of  the 
wicked  one,"  and  the  "  angels"  were  the  actual  be- 
ings referred  to  under  those  similitudes.  We  may 
quite  as  reasonably  deprive  the  two  former  classes  of 
their  personal  identity  as  the  latter :  just  as  properly 
take  saints  and  sinners  for  imaginary  beings  as  angels, 
as  well  doubt  that  the  elect  shall  be  finally  admitted  to 
glory,  and  the  condemned  sent  into  punishment,  as 
22 


254  OF    THE    HOLY    ANGELS  1 

that  angels  shall  be  the  real  instruments  employed  in 
conveying  both  to  their  respective  destinations.  If  we 
had  nothing  else  to  point  to,  those  few  words  would 
settle  the  question.  "  The  field  is  the  world  ;  the  good 
seed  are  the  children  of  the  kingdom,  but  the  tares  are 
the  children  of  the  wicked  one  ;  the  enemy  that  sowed 
them  is  the  devil ;  the  harvest  is  the  end  of  the  world, 
and  the  reapers  are  the  angels."* 

That  the  closing  scene  then,  of  the  present  dispensa. 
tion  will  be  accompanied  by  a  visible  display  of  the 
hosts  in  heaven  in  great  numbers,  we  can  hardly  doubt ; 
those  whom  our  Lord,  then  seated  on  the  throne  of  his 
glory,  shall  confess  or  deny  "  before  the  holy  angels," 
will  certainly  see  those  witnesses  of  their  doom  ;  and 
during  the  tremendous  events  that  usher  in  this  judg- 
ment, while  Satan  and  his  legions  are  using  every  pos- 
sible device  to  stimulate  the  rebellious  bearing  of  har- 
dened sinners,  to  confirm  the  doubtful  in  their  unbelief, 

*  It  is  worthy  of  note,  too,  as  connecting  this  period  of  univer- 
sal activity  on  the  part  of  the  angels  with  other  Scriptures,  that 
no  two  words  can  be  more  different  in  their  signification,  than 
those  which  our  translators  have  all  rendered  by  the  same  term 
"  world."  In  the  first  instance,  "  The  field  is  the  world  ;''  the 
Greek  word  expresses  distinctly  this  terraqueous  globe,  the  ma- 
terial, visible  earth  in  wliieh  we  live  ;  but  in  the  latter  ehiuse 
where  we  find  it  translated  "  The  harvest  is  the  end  of  the  world," 
in  the  original  it  is  "  the  completion  of  the  age,"  j-ostnos,  the 
world,  has  no  affinity  whatever  with  nimi,  the  age:  and  not  only 
here,  but  in  all  parallel  passages  we  find  the  same  event,  i.  e.,  the 
great  harvest  of  the  Lord,  the  day  of  hifl  coming,  6poken  of  by 
the  term  aioti,  proving  that  a  great  crisis  in  the  order  of  things,  not 
the  destruction  of  the  earth,  is  pointed  at. 


ANGELIC    MINISTRATIONS    IN   THE    LAST    DAYS.      255 

and  to  deceive  the  elect,  these  powerful  and  beneficent 
spirits,  acting  under  an  immediate  command  from  their 
gracious  King,  will  indeed  encamp  around  his  people. 
We  may  comprehend  in  some  measure  the  necessity  of 
such  a  constant  guard  in  our  present  comparatively 
safe  and  easy  state,  and  take  comfort  in  knowing  that 
so  it  is  with  us,  if  we  truly  love  the  Lord ;  but  how 
unspeakably  precious  will  then  be  the  thought  of  his 
having  given  his  angels  charge  concerning  us,  to  keep 
us  in  all  our  ways,  when  earthquakes  and  storms, 
signs  and  wonders,  false  Christs  and  false  prophets 
abound,  to  terrify  or  mislead  us  !  Many  a  defenceless 
child  of  God,  finding  himself,  like  Elisha  in  Dothan, 
accompanied  by  foes  too  numerous  and  too  strong  for 
him  to  contend  against,  will  take  comfort  from  know- 
ing, and  perhaps  on  some  occasions,  seeing  that  cha- 
riots and  horses  of  fire,  and  flaming  swords  wielded  by 
hands  of  angelic  strength,  are  arrayed  on  his  side. 
When  Satan  puts  forth  his  utmost  might  in  the  rage  of 
a  last,  despairing  struggle,  against  the  Lord  his  con- 
queror, and  the  little  flock  that  are  about  to  bruise  the 
great  enemy  under  their  feet,  we  may  be  assured  that 
the  zeal  of  "  God's  host"  will  be  roused,  and  their  love 
inflamed  in  a  proportionate  degree,  contemplating  as 
they  will  do,  the  manifold  wisdom  of  God  in  the  dan- 
gers, deliverances  and  final  glory  of  his  church,  while 
they  execute  the  gracious  purposes  of  his  tender  com- 
passion towards  the  poor  sheep  of  his  pasture,  appoint- 
ed by  wicked  spirits  and  evil  men,  to  be  slain.  It  is, 
indeed,  an  overwhelming  thought,  what  the  aspect  of 
this  world  will  be,  when,  for  a  season,  the  restraint  is 


256  OF   THE   HOLY   ANGELS  I 

taken  off  that  now  holds  the  wills  of  fierce  and  crude 
men  within  bounds  ;  when  the  heathen,  that  is,  all  who 
are  not  Christ's,  rage,  and  their  kings  and  rulers  con- 
spire together  to  cast  off  the  government  of  the  Most 
High,  and  to  root  out  his  dominion  from  the  earth, 
"  Except  those  days  should  be  shortened,  there  should 
no  flesh  be  saved."  For  the  elect's  sake  they  will  be 
shortened,  and  the  harvest  will  be  brought  in  more 
quickly  than  men  expect ;  but  under  what  circum- 
stances will  the  angels  divide  and  gather  out  the  good 
seed  from  among  the  tares  of  the  field  ?  We  know 
how  Lot  and  his  family  were  rescued  from  Sodom ; 
we  know  how  Noah  and  his  household  were  shut  into 
the  ark,  ere  the  waters  of  the  flood  lifted  it  up  from 
the  earth ;  and  we  know,  though  not  from  the  page  of 
inspiration,  how  the  Christians  were  delivered  from 
Jerusalem's  dreadful  destruction,  by  a  temporary 
movement  of  the  besieging  army,  who  never  dreamed 
of  assisting  them,  but  who  thereby  enabled  them  to  flee 
to  a  place  of  safety.  An  ark,  a  Zoar,  a  pillar,  there 
will  always  be  to  shelter  that  church,  against  which 
the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail  ;  and  the  Lord  will 
send  such  guidance  that  his  poor  trembling  flock  of 
way-farers,  "  though  fools,  shall  not  err  thereto." 

But  it  is  when  the  Lord  shall  personally  come  again, 
in  like  manner  as  his  disciples  saw  him  go  up  into  hea- 
ven, that  the  innumerable  company  of  angels  will  be 
revealed.  Such  is  the  declaration:  •*  The  Lord  him- 
self shall  be  revealed  from  heaven,  with  his  mighty 
angels,  in  flaming  fire,  taking  vengeance  on  them  that 
know  not  God,  and  that  obey  not   the   Gospel  of  our 


ANGELIC    MINISTRATIONS    IN    THE    LAST   DAYS.      257 

Lord  Jesus  Christ."  2  Thess.  i.  7,  8.  Then  shall  the 
splendid  imagery  of  the  Psalms  and  prophetic  writings 
be  fulfilled,  and  much  more  than  fulfilled ;  for  what 
language,  even  of  inspiration,  can  convey  to  our  weak 
and  darkened  minds  any  realizing  idea  of  those  things 
of  which  eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  nor  heart 
conceived,  the  terrible  magnificence  ?  One  angel, 
described  only  as  "  a  man  in  bright  clothing,"  made 
the  bold  and  pious  Roman  centurion  afraid ;  another 
by  the  exhibition  of  his  angelic  knowledge  and  love  so 
overpowered  the  mind  of  the  holy  John,  that  he  would 
have  offered  him  worship,  due  to  God  alone.  What 
then  must  be  the  full  display  of  all  that  is  dazzling  in 
the  Lord's  triumphant  hosts,  when  thousands  of  thou- 
sands shall  stand  before  him,  and  ten  thousand  times 
ten  thousand  minister  unto  him  ?  Their  lively  interest 
in  all  that  concerns  us,  a  race  of  creatures  infinitely 
every  way  inferior  to  them,  save  only  through  the  high 
exultation  of  our  nature  by  its  union  with  Deity  in  the 
person  of  Christ,  and  the  heavenly  privileges  thereby 
secured  to  his  believing  people,  is  matter  of  wonder ; 
and  whether  they  swell  the  chorus  of  praise  over  the 
ruins  of  the  great  harlot  city,  Rome,  or  spread  the  joy- 
ous  tidings  that  Jerusalem  is  rebuilt,  and  again  inhab- 
ited by  her  long  lost  children ;  or  hover  round  the 
heavenly  city  itself,  the  abode  of  those  who  have  at- 
tained to  the  resurrection  from  the  dead,  with  that  song  of 
angelic  sympathy,  "  Let  us  be  glad  and  rejoiee,  for  the 
marriage  of  the  Lamb  is  come,"  we  shall  be  obliged  to 
confess  that  they,  respecting  whom  we  have  been  ac- 
customed to  think  so  little ;  who  have  been  watching 
22* 


258  OF   THE    HOLY    ANGELS : 

the  progress  of  all  that  regards  us  with  unwearied  dili- 
gence, and  unfailing  care,  and  whose  loudest  song  of 
praise  to  their  eternal  King  hails  him  the  Lamb  that 
was  slain, — slain  for  our  redemption, — have  such  a 
claim  on  our  love  and  gratitude,  as  can  never  be  prop- 
erly  estimated,  until,  seeing  our  Lord  as  He  is,  we 
also  see  them  as  they  are,  and  remember  how  inces- 
santly, how  willingly,  they  ministered  to  us,  through 
the  long  years  of  our  unsteady,  perverse,  inconsistent 
course;  contending  with  our  foes,  keeping  guard  over 
our  steps,  and  finally  thronging  to  welcome  us  to  a  full 
participation  in  all  the  glories  of  their  own  heavenly 
home. 

This  refers  to  the  final  period  of  the  present  dispen- 
sation, when  we  expect  that  He  who  is  gone  to  receive 
for  himself  a  kingdom  will  return  to  establish  it  on 
earth.  There  has,  however,  been  a  spiritual  coming 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  to  his  people  from  the  beginning, 
while  the  call  to  enter  into  the  eternal  world  has  suc- 
cessively reached  them.  When  a  believer  departs  to 
be  with  Christ,  he  becomes  a  resident  in  the  celestial 
Jerusalem,  entering  into  the  peaceful  rest  of  heaven, 
where  Christ  also  sitteth  at  the  righl  hand  of  the  Ma- 
jesty on  high,  there  to  abide,  until  with  all  the  other 
saints,  he  is  summoned  to  attend  bis  Lord,  and  to  be 
re-united  to  the  body  which  he  once  left  below.  In 
this  transition  of  the  departing  soul,  it  is  certain  that 
angels  are  always  present  not  merely  as  spectators, 
but  as  most  active  messengers  of  Christ.  It  is  difficult 
to  speak  of  the  state  in  which  a  disembodied  spirit  finds 
itself,  on  launching  into  eternity :  it  is  one  of  those 


ANGELIC    MINISTRATIONS    IN    THE    LAST    DAYS.     259 

things  which  every  one  is  certain  to  know  by  experi- 
ence, but  which  none  can  foreknow  by  any  effort  either 
of  wisdom  or  knowledge,  or  the  most  vivid  imagination. 
The  separate  existence  of  souls,  of  every  soul  of  every 
human  being,  from  Adam  to  the  last  of  his  posterity  who 
shall  taste  death,  is  not  even  questionable  by  any  who 
believe  in  the  revelation  of  God ;  and  that  all  who  have 
already  lived  and  died,  are  now  in  companionship 
either  with  angels  or  devils,  awaiting  the  resurrection 
of  the  body,  either  to  life  or  damnation,  is  also  very 
plainly  set  forth  in  Scripture.  To  Abraham's  bosom, 
to  the  rest  and  happiness  enjoyed  by  faithful  Abraham, 
the  angels  bore  Lazarus ;  while  the  rich  man,  we  are 
distinctly  told,  went  to  hell ;  and  what  is  most  remark, 
able,  the  angel  who  showed  John  the  wonderful  things 
related  in  the  Apocalypse,  so  identified  himself  with 
the  prophets,  and  other  obedient  servants  of  Christ,  as 
almost  to  do  away  the  distinction  between  an  angel 
and  a  glorified  saint.  Nor  is  this  a  solitary  instance : 
our  Lord,  speaking  of  the  claim  that  litttle  children 
have  on  the  tenderness  and  care  of  Christians,  says, 
"  I  say  unto  you,  that  in  heaven  their  angels  do  always 
behold  the  face  of  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven." 
Matt,  xviii.  10.  And  when  the-  damsel  who  went  to 
hearken  at  the  gate  affirmed  that  she  had  seen  Peter 
there,  the  other  disciples,  assured  that  he  was  either 
imprisoned  in  fetters  or  slaughtered,  explained  it,  say- 
ing, "  It  is  his  angel."  Many  ingenious  theories  have 
been  started  on  this  ground ;  but  when  all  has  been 
said  that  man  can  say,  we  are  authorized  only  to  re- 


260  OF   THE    HOLY    ANGELS : 

ceive  what  bears  upon  it  the  infallible  and  indelible 
stamp  of  truth,  "  Thus  saith  the  Lord." 

That  in  heaven  the  spirits  of  justified  men  abide  with 
angels,  is  quite  indubitable  on  Scripture  ground  ;  but 
we  are  also  warranted  to  believe  that  they  enjoy,  oc- 
casionally at  least,  the  angelic  privilege  of  visiting 
earth,  or  of  beholding  clearly  what  goes  on  in  the  mil- 
itant church.  Otherwise,  how  could  the  souls  under 
the  altar  know  that  their  blood  was  not  yet  avenged 
on  them  that  dwell  on  the  earth  ?  And  why,  if  forever 
divorced  from  all  the  ties  of  mortality,  should  they  ex- 
press  impatience  for  the  arrival  of  that  time  1  Assuredly 
not  from  any  vengeful  feeling:  such  is  forbidden  fn 
just  men  in  the  flesh,  and  cannot  reside  in  the  spirits 
of  just  men  made  perfect.  Besides,  the  generation  on 
whom  their  blood  was  to  be  avenged,  was  probably  not 
the  same  as  the  generation  who  shed  it.  We  can  only 
understand  it  as  expressing  a  fervent  desire  for  the 
speedy  arrival  of  that  day  of  vengeance  which  we 
know  synchronizes  with  the  year  of  the  redeemed. 
Those  souls  beheld  and  mourned  over  the  desolate 
state  of  the  Lord's  still  persecuted  Church  ;  the  de- 
voted little  flock  to  which  they  also  belonged;  and 
knowing  that  He  would  at  once  put  all  enemies  under 
his  feet,  and  exalt  his  Chinch  to  ftlory  and  everlasting 
peace,  they  pleaded  for  the  hastening  of  that  promised 
day. 

Another  instance,  of  which  it  cannot  be  said  that  it 
was  figurative,  as  may  be  objected  to  the  foregoing,  u 
the  appearance  of  Moses  and  Klias  on  the  mount  with 


ANGELIC  MINISTRATIONS    IN  THE  LAST  DAYS.       261 

our  Lord,  in  glorified  bodies.  Elias,  indeed,  did  not 
die ;  he  took  his  own  body  with  him ;  but  Moses  died 
and  was  buried,  though  of  his  sepulchre  no  man  know- 
eth  to  this  day.  Whether  the  body  in  which  he  then 
appeared  was  his  own,  raised  again  from  death  and  the 
grave  for  a  special  purpose,  or  whether  it  was  what  the 
disciples  meant  when  they  talked  of  Peter's  "angel,"' 
we  cannot  possibly  tell.  This  we  know,  the  person  was 
Moses,  who  had  been  dead  for  many  generations,  and 
he  talked  with  our  Lord,  as  also  did  Elias,  concerning 
his  decease,  which  he  should  accomplish  in  Jerusalem. 
They  spoke  of  a  coming  event ;  of  the  locality  assigned 
to  it  in  the  purposes  of  God ;  and,  eminent  as  were 
these  two  lights  of  the  Old  Testament  church,  we  have 
no  pretence  for  supposing  that  what  was  clearly  re- 
vealed to,  and  perfectly  understood  by  them,  in  the 
state  of  blessedness  to  which  they  had  attained,  was 
concealed  from  Abraham,  Isaac,  Jacob ;  from  Noah, 
Daniel,  and  Job ;  or  from  any  who  had,  by  the  like 
precious  faith,  entered  the  presence  of  God  ;  with  whom 
is  no  respect  of  persons,  and  who  often  maketh  the  first 
last,  and  the  last  first. 

This  may  seem  somewhat  irrelevant  to  the  precise 
matter  before  us ;  but  the  connexion  is  very  intimate. 
To  every  individual  among  the  great  multitude  before 
the  throne,  have  the  angels  of  God  been  ministering 
spirits ;  and  seeing  that  the  privilege  of  believers  in 
the  life  to  come  is  to  be  made  like  unto  the  angels,  to 
be  equal  with  the  angels,  and  that  "  those  also  who 
sleep  in  Jesus  will  God  bring  with  him,"  when  "  the 
Son  of  Man  shall  come  in  the  glory  of  his  Father,  and 


262  OF  THE    HOLY    ANGELS  : 

of  the  ho]/  angels,"  we  are  sure  the  departed  saints 
shall  with  the  angels  bear  a  very  conspicuous  part  in 
the  proceedings  of  that  day ;  but  we  have  a  striking 
indication  that  they  will  not  descend  to  earth  as  stran- 
gers long  divorced  from  all  its  concerns,  but  as  those 
who  have  like  the  ministering  angels,  with  keen  inter- 
est  watched  the  progress  of  the  church  below  toward 
the  final  consummation  of  all  its  hopes. 

The  apostle  Paul,  after  enumerating  many  of  those 
who  by  faith  obtained  the  heavenly  inheritance,  in- 
cludes in  the  same  company  all  who  had  borne  testi- 
mony during  their  lives  to  the  truth,  and  staid  them- 
selves on  the  promises  of  God.  He  then  shows  that 
they  had  not  yet  obtained  the  promises  to  which  all 
looked  forward,  but  were  kept  waiting  for  us ;  that  is. 
for  the  whole  multitude  of  them  which  shall  be  saved. 
He  speaks  of  them  in  their  present  state  as  a  great 
cloud  of  witnesses  encompassing  us  ;  and  points  to  the 
circumstance  as  calculated  to  quicken  us  in  '•  the  race 
set  before  us,"  the  same  race  wherein  they  also  strove. 
and  succeeded.  As  too  often  happens,  the  force  of 
this  beautiful  passage  is  greatly  weakened  by  the  in- 
judicious division  into  chapters  of  what  was  written 
continuously:  but  a  little  attention  bestowed  on  these 
two  chapters  without  any  regard  paid  to  sueli  arbitra- 
ry disjointing,  will  present  in  a  very  glorious  light  the 
perfect  union  and  Uninterrupted  communion  of  the 
whole  body  of  the  elect,  from  the  time  of  Abel  t<>  the 
last  period — the  removing  of  those  things  that  may  be 
shaken,  and  tin-  final  establishment  Of  the  kingdom  that 
cannot  be  moved.     It  is  very  remarkable,  that  he  docs 


ANGELIC  MINISTRATIONS    IN   THE    LAST  DAYS.       263 

not  say  to  believers  still  in  the  flesh,  Ye  shall  come, 
but,  "  Ye  are  come  unto  Mount  Zion,  and  unto  the 
city  of  the  living  God,  the  heavenly  Jerusalem,  and  to 
an  innumerable  company  of  angels,  to  the  general  as- 
sembly and  church  of  the  first  born,  which  are  written 
in  heaven,  and  to  God  the  judge  of  all,  and  to  the  spir- 
its of  just  men  made  perfect,  and  to  Jesus  the  media- 
tor of  the  new  covenant,  and  to  the  blood  of  sprinkling 
that  speaketh  better  things  than  that  of  Abel."  Heb. 
xii.  22 — 24.  By  faith  the  child  of  God  enters  into 
this  community,  embracing  all  that  is  of  God,  both  in 
heaven  and  on  earth ;  and  when  he  puts  off  his  taber- 
nacle of  flesh,  it  is  not  to  lose  sight  of  what  he  has 
hitherto  beheld,  and  to  open  his  eyes  on  a  different 
scene,  but  to  take  in  all  that  before  he  saw  not,  in  addi- 
tion to  that  which  he  has  already  seen.  Having  passed 
the  waves  of  this  troublesome  world,  and  obtained  a 
sure  footing  on  the  heavenly  shore,  he  does  not  in  self- 
ish contentment  turn  his  back  upon  his  former  com- 
panions, still  struggling  through  the  surge,  but  with 
deep  interest  contemplate  their  painful  progress,  and 
if  so  the  Lord  permit,  joyfully  unite  with  the  minister- 
ing spirits  who  are  commissioned  to  render  such  help 
as  divine  wisdom  sees  good,  by  their  instrumentality  to 
impart.  This,  carried  a  little  way  beyond  what  reve- 
lation sanctions,  leads  to  perilous  idolatry  ;  and  so  we 
find  it  was,  even  in  the  apostles'  days  ;  but  what  then  ? 
If  some  of  the  unlearned  and  unstable  wrest  certain 
Scriptures  to  their  own  destruction,  are  we,  therefore, 
to  shrink  from  receiving  the  whole  word  of  God  1 
There  is  no  doctrine  so  wholesome,  so  pure,  so  essen- 


264  OF   THE   HOLY    ANGELS : 

tially  necessary  to  be  believed,  that  by  overstepping 
its  prescribed  bounds  it  may  not  be  wrested  to  a  fearful 
error,  and  some  who  will  not  entertain  this  exceedingly 
important  and  unspeakably  encouraging  subject  of  an- 
gelic ministry,  and  the  communion  of  saints,  lest  it  lead 
them  into  unsafe  paths,  will  dogmatize  on  the  origin  of 
evil,  free-will,  and  the  secret  counsels  of  the  Most  High, 
until  they  totter  on  the  extreme  verge  of  most  presump- 
tuous sin.  John's  mistake  is  recorded  for  our  warn- 
ing, and  the  angel's  gentle  rebuke  for  our  instruction  ; 
and  with  these  before  him,  what  has  the  humble  wor- 
shiper of  God  to  fear  from  an  attentive,  thankful  in- 
vestigation of  this  lovely  portion  of  the  divine  economy 
of  grace  ? 


X. 

ANGELIC  TRIUMPH. 

We  have  now  to  survey  what  is  made  known  on  the 
subject  of  angelic  triumph,  when  the  final  overthrow 
of  all  that  impeded  the  universal  extension  of  Christ's 
kingdom  on  earth,  shall  have  terminated  this  dispensa- 
tion :  and  here  indeed  we  trace  the  beautiful  union 
onee  before  displayed  in  their  heavenly  chorus,  of 
ry  to  God  in  the  highest,  and  on  earth  peace, 
will  towards  men!"  The  twenty-fourth  Psalrn 
contains  a  sublime  foretaste  of  what  we  look  for,  while 
Lbiag  that  glorious  scene,  the  ascension  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  on  high,  leading  captivity  captive.  There, 
the  heralding  angels  cry,  "Lift  up  your  heads,  O  ye 
gates,  and  be  ye  lifted  up  ye,  everlasting  doors ;  and  the 
King  of  glory  shall  come  in."  Those  from  within  the 
gates  inquire,  "  Who  is  this  King  of  glory  V  Not  that 
they  needed  to  be  told  ;  no,  they  knew  the  Babe  of 
Bethlehem,  who  from  his  lowly  birth  had  been  "  seen 
of  angels,"  of  all  the  angels  of  God,  and  well  were  they 
prepared  to  celebrate  his  return  to  the  glory  which  he 
had  with  the  Father  before  the  world  was :  but  they 


266  OF    THE    HOLY    ANGELS. 

loved  to  draw  forth  the  answering  shout,  ascriptive  of 
praise  to  their  God,  "  The  Lord  strong  and  mighty,  the 
Lord  mighty  in  battle." 

And  again  the  summons  is  sounded  from  those  ma- 
jestic and  resplendent  legions,  advancing  as  they  sing, 
"  Lift  up  your  heads,  O  ye  gates,  even  lift  them  up,  ye 
everlasting  doors,  and  the  King  of  glory  shall  come 
in."  The  shining  multitude,  the  seraphim,  the  cheru- 
bim, who  throng  around  those  eternal  gates,  and  per- 
chance the  spirits  of  the  faithful  resting  there,  once 
more  demand,  "Who  is  this  King  of  glory  V  and  once 
more  the  thundering  song  peals  out,  "  The  Lord  of 
Hosts,  he  is  the  King  of  glory."  It  is  wonderful  how 
habit  familiarizes  the  human  mind  to  what  is  calcu- 
lated to  overpower  it.  The  grandeur  of  this  passage, 
the  imagery  that  it  teems  with  is  such,  that  man's  lip 
might  well  falter  in  appropriating  the  lofty  strain,  and 
his  knee  bow  in  unpremeditated  adoration  of  the  as- 
cended King  of  glory  ;  but  we  hear  it  until  we  can 
scarcely  bestow  a  thought  on  its  surpassing  splendour; 
and  yet  in  the  pride  of  our  cold,  unthankful  hearts, 
affect  to  look  down  upon  the  glowing  creatures  who 
cease  not  day  or  night  audibly  to  pour  forth  the  ardent 
devotion  of  theirs  before  the  throne,  as  though  their 
rank  were  somewhat  below  ours.  But  the  proudest 
heart  will  be  humbled,  and  the  coldest  kindled  into 
flame,  when  that  awful  hour  arrives  for  the  seventh 
angel  to  sound,  and  great  voices  in  heaven  proclaim, 
"The  kingdoms  of  this  world  are  become  the  king- 
doms of  our  Lord  and  of  his  Christ  ;  and  he  shall  reign 
forever  and  ever:"  when  the  Church  in  glory,  that  so 


ANGELIC    TRIUMPH.  267 

long  awaited  the  clay  of  vengeance,  the  year  of  the 
redeemed,  takes  up  the  strain,  and  says  in  prostrate 
adoration,  "  We  give  thee  thanks,  O  Lord  God  Al- 
mighty, which  art,  and  wast,  and  art  to  come ;  because 
thou  hast  taken  to  thee  thy  great  power,  and  hast 
reigned."  When  a  voice  shall  come  out  of  the  throne, 
saying,  "  Praise  our  God,  all  ye  his  servants,  and  ye 
that  fear  him,  both  small  and  great,"  and  the  call  shall 
be  responded  to  by  the  myriads  of  the  holy  angels,  the 
innumerable  multitude  of  ransomed  souls,  the  whole 
company  of  that  rejoicing  heaven  and  renovated  earth, 
bursting  forth,  "  the  voice  of  a  great  multitude,  and  as 
the  voice  of  many  waters,  and  as  the  voice  of  mighty 
thunderings,  saying,  Allelujah  :  for  the  Lord  God  om- 
nipotent reigneth." 

That  hour  will  come  :  and  in  the  body,  or  out  of 
the  body,  every  soul  of  man  shall  witness  its  coming. 
How  near  it  may  be,  we  know  not,  but  far  distant  it 
cannot  be.  A  veil,  the  veil  of  our  own  darkened  un- 
derstandings, as  yet  conceals  from  us  the  glory  that 
shall  be  revealed :  and  neither  angel  nor  devil  shall 
longer  be  invisible  to  our  awe-struck  gaze.  The  latter 
will  pass  into  their  fiery  prison,  and  Satan  will  be  cast 
fettered  into  his  dungeon,  and  while  heaven  pours  forth 
its  dazzling  legions,  earth  will  be  purified  from  all 
things  that  offend. 

When  John  saw  the  multitude  arrayed  in  white 
robes,  with  palms  in  their  hands,  standing  before  the 
throne,  and  heard  them  loudly  ascribe  salvation  to  God 
and  to  the  Lamb,  he  saw  all  the  angels  fall  upon 
their  faces,  and  worship  God,  as  their  God.   Wherever 


268  OF   THE    HOLY   ANGELS ! 

a  note  of  praise  is  uttered  by  the  Church,  it  awakes 
an  echo  throughout  the  untold  legions  of  heaven.  This 
sympathy  will  never  cease  ;  and  with  what  delight 
God's  angels  contemplate  the  approaching  triumph  of 
their  glorious  King,  we  are  told  in  many  ways.  That 
magnificent  strain  of  holy  exultation,  descriptive  of  the 
final  ruin  of  the  great  harlot  city  of  Rome,  is  repeated 
as  being  uttered  by  a  voice  from  heaven  ;  probably  of 
an  angel  also,  for  it  is  called  another  voice  from  heaven, 
immediately  following  that  of  an  angel  having  great 
power,  and  lightening  the  earth  with  his  glory,  who 
cried  mightily  with  a  strong  voice,  saying,  "  Babylon 
the  great  is  fallen,  is  fallen."  It  was  an  angel  also, 
one  of  the  seven  who  had  poured  forth  the  seven  last 
plagues  on  the  earth,  who  showed  to  John  the  heavenly 
city,  guarded  at  its  twelve  gates,  by  the  same  number 
of  angels. 

Here  we  may  pause,  to  consider  for  a  moment  what 
is  meant  by  this  mysterious  city  !  It  is  often  named 
in  Scripture,  as  a  place  actually  existing,  but  not  on 
earth.  Paul  speaks  of  it  to  the  Galatians,  in  direct 
contradistinction  from  the  earthly  Zion  :  "  Jerusalem 
which  now  is,  and  is  in  bondage  with  her  children;" 
and  "Jerusalem  which  is  above,  is  free,  which  is  the 
mother  of  us  all."  Gal.  iv.  26,  26.  It  is  difficult  to 
conceive  how,  while  one  is  indisputably  a  real,  an  ex- 
isting, a  material  city,  the  other  should  be  a  visionary 
thin^,  a  mere  name  ;  or,  that  while  Ilagar  is  repre- 
sented as  the  figure  of  a  reality,  Mount  Sinai  in  Ara- 
bia, and  that  again  of  another  reality,  Jerusalem  in 
Palestine,  Sarah  should  only  be  the  figure  of  a  figure 


ANGELIC    TRIUMPH.  269 

which  has  no  substantial  antitype.  Again,  in  Heb. 
xii.,  he  names  it  the  city  of  the  living  God  ;  the  heav- 
enly Jerusalem  :  and  John,  in  Rev.  xxi.  says  the  angel 
•'  carried  me  away  in  the  Spirit,  to  a  great  and  high 
mountain,  and  showed  me  that  great  city,  the  holy 
Jerusalem,  descending  out  of  heaven  from  God,  hav- 
ing the  glory  of  God."  Our  Lord  also  distinctly  men- 
tions it :  "I  will  write  upon  him  the  name  of  my  God, 
and  the  name  of  the  city  of  my  God,  which  is  new 
Jerusalem,  which  cometh  down  out  of  heaven  from  my 
God."  Rev.  iii.  12.  Though  not  so  plainly  named, 
this  Jerusalem  is  clearly  intended  also  by  Paul,  when 
he  says,  Abraham  "  looked  for  a  city  which  hath 
foundations,  whose  builder  and  maker  is  God."  Heb. 
xi.  10.  And  again,  "  God  is  not  ashamed  to  be  called 
their  God,  for  he  hath  prepared  for. them  a  city."  Heb. 
xi.  16.  In  the  beautiful  discourse  addressed  by  the 
Lord  Jesus  to  his  disciples,  immediately  before  his  be- 
trayal, he  says,  "  In  my  Father's  house  are  many 
mansions ;  if  it  were  not  so,  I  would  have  told  you. 
I  go  to  prepare  a  place  for  you  ;  and  if  I  go  and  pre- 
pare a  place  for  you,  I  will  come  again  and  receive 
you  unto  myself;  that  where  I  am,  there  ye  may  be 
also."  John  xiv.  2,  3.  Paul  too  says,  "  We  know  that 
if  our  earthly  house  of  this  tabernacle  were  dissolved, 
we  have  a  building  of  God,  an  house  not  made  with 
hands,  eternal  in  the  heavens  :  for  in  this  we  groan, 
earnestly  desiring  to  be  clothed  upon  with  our  house 
which  is  from  heaven."  2  Cor.  v.  1,  2.  Is  not  this  the 
"holy  Jerusalem  "  which  John  saw  ?  The  name  im- 
ports "peace;"  or  rather,  it  imports  "where  peace  is 
23* 


270  OF    THE    HOLY    ANGELS : 

seen :"  and  there  is  no  question,  among  spiritual  peo- 
ple, as  to  the  fact  of  this  new  Jerusalem  being  the 
heavenly  home  of  God's  people  ;  but  one  very  great 
discrepancy  seems  to  exist  between  God's  revelation 
and  man's  expectation :  the  latter  expects  to  bid  an 
eternal  farewell  to  earth,  and  to  go  to  a  place  called 
heaven,  somewhere  in  a  vastly  remote  space,  where  all 
that  he  shall  find  will  be  totally  dissimilar  from  aught 
that  he  has  ever  seen  or  heard  of ;  where  he  will  be  an 
etherealized,  unsubstantial  creature  among  beings  and 
things  equally  removed  from  all  with  which  we  are 
now  conversant.  Revelation,  on  the  contrary,  tells  us 
of  "a  city,"  of  "mansions,"  of  foundations,  walls, 
and  gates,  indescribably  rich,  bright,  and  glorious  in- 
deed, but  still  answerable  in  some  measure  to  what 
we  are  accustomed  to  ;  and  it  invariably  speaks  of  this 
heavenly  abode  as  coming  down,  at  the  appointed  time, 
to  the  region  of  our  earth.  Paul  speaks  of  being 
"  clothed  upon  with  an  house  which  is  from,"  not  in 
"  heaven:"  our  Lord  says,  "  I  will  come,  and  receive 
you  unto  myself;"  and  the  more  minutely  we  inspect 
the  Scriptures  that  bear  upon  the  subject,  the  more 
we  shall  be  struck  by  their  harmonious  bearing  on 
the  point. 

It  is  a  point  in  which  every  individual  is  personally 
concerned  ;  and  we  may,  without  committing  any  pre- 
sumptuous sin,  examine,  each  for  himself,  what  God 
hath  seen  fit  to  reveal  to  all.  We  must  remember  that 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  took  to  himself  a  body  which 
saw  no  corruption  ;  that,  in  the  same  body  with  which 
he  arose  from  the  dead,  and  the  identity  of  which  he 


ANGELIC    TRIUMPH.  271 

d  to  Thomas,  he  ascended  into  heaven,  and  shall 
again  to  judgment.  Two  of  his  people,  Enoch 
Elijah,  also  went  to  that  unseen  place  in  their  ma- 
.1  bodies;  and  at  the  crucifixion  of  our  Lord  "the 
h  did  quake,  and  the  rocks  rent ;  and  the  graves 
weie  opened;  and  many  bodies  of  the  saints  which 
slept  arose  and  came  out  of  their  graves  after  his  re- 
surrection, and  went  into  the  holy  city,  and  appeared 
unto  many."  Matt,  xxvii.  51 — 53.  Now  it  is  perfect- 
ly natural  and  allowable  to  ask,  where  are  all  these 
bodies  ?  Changed,  no  doubt ;  their  corruption  having 
put  on  incorruption,  and  their  mortal  immortality,  and 
made  glorious,  as  was  seen  in  Moses  and  Elias  on  the 
Mount ;  but  still  the  same  bodies  that  they  wore  when 
on  earth.  And  if  in  the  Bible  we  find  a  satisfactory 
answer  to  that  question,  by  being  told  of  a  glorious 
place,  a  city,  a  habitation,  prepared  and  reserved  for 
God's  children,  and  in  due  time  to  be  revealed,  not 
only  to  them,  but  to  all  others,  though  no  others  shall 
ever  find  entrance  into  it,  surely  we  may  be  allowed 
to  take,  in  a  more  literal  sense,  the  declarations  so  often 
repeated  than  that  which  good  men  have  been  in  the 
habit  of  connecting  with  them. 

In  all  humility,  then,  we  proclaim  our  belief,  found- 
ed on  many  passages  in  the  Bible,  that  a  place,  a  real 
locality  exists,  far  beyond  the  present  scope  of  our  vis- 
ion, but  not  necessarily  invisible  to  mortal  eye  ;  that 
to  this  place  the  glowing  description  given  by  John  in 
the  twenty-first  chapter  of  the  Revelation  belongs: 
that  it  is  the  present  abode  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  in 
his  human  body,  and  of  those  named  in  a  passage  more 


272  OF    THE    HOLY   ANGELS  I 

than  once  already  quoted,  an  innumerable  company  of 
angels,  the  general  assembly  and  Church  of  the  first- 
born, the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect,  and  the  bo- 
dies of  such  as  have  heretofore,  for  some  special  pur- 
pose,  been  raised  from  the  dead. 

We  believe  that  into  this  abode  flesh  and  blood,  in 
its  unchanged  state,  shall  not  enter,  but  that  it  will, 
during  the  millennial  period  of  the  Church's  peace  and 
Satan's  imprisonment,  be  fully  visible  to  men  upon  the 
earth,  among  whom  its  happy  inhabitants  will  have 
full  freedom  to  intermingle,  by  the  same  facilities  that 
placed  Moses  and  Elias  on  the  Mount,  and  brought  the 
holy  angels  so  often  into  companionship  with  man. 
We  do  believe  that  in  this  heavenly  Jerusalem  no  dis- 
tinction whatever  subsists  between  Jew  and  Gentile, 
male  and  female,  bond  and  free  ;  all  being  one  in 
Christ  Jesus,  and  like,  and  equal  unto,  the  angels ; 
while  in  the  earthly  Jerusalem  we  certainly  believe 
that  the  children  of  Abraham,  according  to  the  flesh, 
shall  dwell  under  the  acknowledged  rule  of  their  Mes- 
siah, possessed  of  every  privilege  that  can  belong  to 
the  citizens  of  the  world's  metropolis ;  and  invested 
with  such  honours  and  advantage's  as  never  yet  were 
by  any  nation  enjoyed.  We  believe  that  by  a  pecu- 
liar dispensation,  frequently  alluded  to  by  our  Lord 
and  by  the  inspired  writers,  a  subordinate  rule,  under 
Christ,  will  be  exercised  by  the  saints  of  the  Church 
triumphant  over  the  church  still  on  earth ;  while  an 
intercourse  no  less  frequent  than  are  now  the  visits  of 
those  unseen  ministering  spirits,  who  have  the  charge 
over  us  to  keep  us  in  all  our  ways,  will  subsist  between 


AJ.GELIC    TRIUMPH.  273 

those  who  are,  and  those  who  are  not  yet  perfected  in 
heavenly  felicity.  This  view  necessarily  brings  the 
holy  angels  forward  as  partaking  richly  in  the  trium- 
phant glories  of  Christ's  reign  :  they  will  have  gathered 
out  the  tares,  gathered  in  the  wheat,  and  have  seen 
their  rebellious  fellows  who  kept  not  their  first  estate, 
consigned  to  the  abyss  from  whence  they  will  no  more 
escape ;  or  if  permitted  to  share  the  short  season  of 
Satan's  enlargement,  and  to  aid  in  deceiving  those 
whom  he  will  finally  assail,  they  will  speedily  be  cast 
into  the  fiery  pit  forever.  We  are  told  that  at  the  final 
judgment  of  all  men,  which  follows  this  last  outburst 
of  Satanic  malignity,  the  earth  and  its  heaven  shall  flee 
away,  and  no  more  peace  be  found  for  them  ;  but  the 
holy  Jerusalem  is  imperishable  :  it  is  a  building  of 
God,  eternal  in  those  heavens  with  which  our  globe 
has  no  necessary  connexion.  There,  without  a  pause, 
the  songs  of  the  redeemed  shall  ascend ;  there,  with- 
out a  night,  the  day  of  peace  and  joy  shall  endure ; 
there  at  the  gates,  the  "  everlasting  doors,"  angelic 
guards  shall  hold  their  safe  and  pleasant  post,  evermore 
employed  in  the  service  of  their  glorious  King.  Blind- 
ly erring  as  now  we  do,  in  vain  attempts  fully  to  com- 
prehend what  it  will  require,  new  and  enlarged  facul- 
ties to  take  in,  even  when  the  things  now  unseen  are 
displayed  to  our  sight,  we  shall  then  see  clearly,  and 
know  even  as  we  are  known. 

There  is  a  practical  application  of  this  high  and  holy 
subject,  the  realities  of  the  spiritual  world,  both  angelic 
and  Satanic,  that  must  not  be  overlooked.  No  action 
of  our  lives,  nothing  that  we  can  do  or  say,  is  uncon- 


274  OF    THE    HOLY   ANGELS  I 

nected  with  the  two  classes  into  which  those  spiritual 
beings  are  divided.  It  fearfully  aggravates  sin  to  com- 
mit it,  as  we  do,  in  the  presence  of  those  whom  the 
Lord  has  commissioned  to  watch  over  and  to  minister 
unto  us,  and  who  cannot  but  be  very  jealous  for  their 
divine  Master's  honour;  and  in  the  presence *too  of 
those  apostates  who  delight  in  our  transgressions,  be- 
cause they  dishonour  God.  How  circumspectly  should 
we  walk,  in  many  a  case  where  now  our  ways  are 
most  inconsistent  and  perverse,  if  we  could  see  the 
pure,  bright,  searching  eye  of  a  holy  angel  intently 
fixed  on  us,  with  a  desire  to  mark  how  the  Christian 
glorifies  his  Master;  or  if  we  caught  the  exulting  leer 
of  a  devil,  tracing  out  our  crooked  ways,  or  turned  in 
mockery  and  scorn  to  the  record  of  God's  will,  which 
we  profess  to  follow,  but  from  which  we  so  perpetually 
swerve  !  Both  might  address  us  in  the  same  language, 
and  ask,  the  one  in  sorrowful  reproach,  the  other  in 
grinning  exultation,  "  Is  this  thy  kindness  to  thy 
friend  ?"  that  friend  who  has  done  all  for  us,  even  to 
the  sacrifice  of  himself,  for  our  redemption  ;  and  who 
has  given  such  large  supplies  of  grace,  and  such  un- 
limited promises  of  help,  that  we  may  walk  worthy 
our  aigh  calling,  and  enable  him  to  present  his  church 
to  God,  holy  and  without  blemish,  not  having  spot  or 
wrinkle,  or  any  such  thing.  To  spot  it,  to  wrinkle  it, 
to  pollute  it,  is  the  unceasing  aim  of  Satan  and  his 
crew,  while  no  created  being  can  lend  the  smallest  aid 
to  stay  the  workings  of. sin,  to  palliate  it  when  com- 
mitted, or  to  supply  a  particle  of  help  towards  cancel- 
ing this  debt.     There  is  no  moment  of  our  lives  when 


ANGELIC    TRIUMPH.  275 

we  are  perfectly  secure  from  the  approach  of  evil 
spirits ;  and  though  the  Lord  himself  is  ever  present 
with  his  people,  and  his  presence  is  all-sufficient  to 
protect  and  to  sustain  them,  yet  we  have  clear  intima- 
tions, as  has  been  shown  in  these  pages,  that  against 
those  who  would  harm  us  an  adverse  armament  is  ar- 
rayed, watchful,  zealous,  and  filled  with  holy  love 
and  tender  compassion  for  the  feeble  children  of  men. 
It  is  sweet  to  be  able  to  say,  by  faith,  what  Paul  said 
from  actual  right,  on  occasions  of  imminent  danger  and 
deliverance  :  "  There  stood  by  me  the  angel  of  God, 
whose  I  am,  and  whom  I  serve."  It  does  not  derogate 
from  the  omnipotence  or  the  omniscience  of  the  Most 
High,  while  it  exceedingly  enhances  his  gracious  care 
for  both  parties,  that  he  should  depute  his  bright  angels 
to  render  loving  service  to  his  people.  On  their  part, 
we  may  be  assured,  it  forms  a  very  endearing  tie ; 
and  it  is  strange  that  we,  who  are  the  great  gainers, 
should  be  so  utterly  indifferent  to  the  revealed  fact,  as 
to  pass  weeks,  months,  and  some  perhaps  years,  with- 
out bestowing  a  thankful  thought  on  the  matter. 

Our  notions  of  an  earthly  monarch's  greatness  are 
enlarged  by  observing  that  his  sway  extends  over  a 
multitude  of  subjects  ;  and  that  he  has  under  his  com- 
mand an  exceedingly  numerous,  formidable,  obedient, 
and  beautifully  disciplined  army,  so  ordered  as  to  hold 
effectually  at  bay  a  no  less  numerous  hostile  force, 
perpetually  menacing  his  dominions.  Nebuchadnez- 
zar, himself  a  great  king  and  conqueror,  understood 
this ;  and  how  striking  is  the  reference  he  makes  to 
that  peculiar  feature  in  the  majesty  of  the  divine  gov- 


276  OF    THE    HOLY  ANGELS ! 

ernment !  "  He  doeth  according  to  his  will  in  the  ar- 
my of  heaven,  and  among  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth  : 
and  none  can  stay  his  hand,  or  say  unto  him,  what 
doest  thou?"  Our  views  qn  this  subject  are  rarely  so 
snlarged  as  those  of  the  Chaldean  king.  To  judge  by 
the  tenour  of  religious  books,  and  ministerial  discourses 
in  general,  very  little  praise  is  rendered  to  God  for  re- 
vealing to  us  this  branch  of  the  glory  of  his  kingdom. 
We  use  in  our  public  worship  that  exceedingly  beau- 
tiful and  most  scriptural  hymn,  the  Te  Deum  ;  and 
fluently  recite,  "  To  thee  all  angels  cry  aloud,  the 
heavens  and  all  the  powers  therein  ;  to  thee,  cherubim 
and  seraphim  continually  do  cry,  Holy,  holy,  holy 
Lord  God  of  Sabaoth!"  What  a  scene  would  open  to 
our  mental  and  spiritual  view  every  time  we  utter 
these  words,  if  we  had  habitually  paid  due  attention  to 
what  the  Lord  God  of  Sabaoth, — of  hosts,  or  armies,-— 
has  vouchsafed  to  show  us  in  his  word  !  If  all  the  im- 
agery which  we  are  so  slow  to  remark  was  deduced 
from  the  Psalms  of  David,  we  should  scarcely  recog- 
nise them,  so  altered,  so  impoverished  would  they  be- 
come;  and  instead  of  thrusting  this  precious  doctrine 
into  the  shade,  we  should  do  well  to  bring  it  very  pro- 
minently forward,  even  at  the  expense  of  some  topics 
which  usually  occupy  a  large  share  of  attention,  and 
which  do  but  gender  needless  strife.  We  all,  occa- 
sionally, are  compelled  to  cry,  Our  soul  cleaveth  to  the 
dust,  and  to  ask  for  quickening  grace,  according  to 
God's  word  ;  but  we  make  too  little  use  of  some  of  the 
means  which  that  word  supplies  for  contemplations  of 
a  most  elevating  character.     If  God's  angels  took  no 


ANGELIC    TRIUMPH.  277 

more  thought  for  us  than  we  do  for  them,  we  should 
go  stumbling  about  the  world  in  a  very  uncomfortable 
manner. 

With  some  it  is  a  favourite  plan  to  place  the  angels 
in  a  position  vastly  subordinate,  or  at  best  inferior  to 
that  of  the  saints.  Yet  when  our  Lord  took  upon  him 
our  nature,  even  the  sinless  nature,  wholly  exempt 
from  Adam's  rebellious  taint,  he  is  said  to  have  been 
made  a  little  lower  than  the  angels.  Paul,  reproving 
the  Corinthians  for  going  to  law  before  the  unjust,  and 
not  before  the  saints,  reminds  them  that  by  the  saints 
the  world  shall  be  judged ;  and  adds,  "  Know  ye  not 
that  we  shall  judge  angels?"  1  Cor.  vi.  3.  This 
seems  evidently  to  refer  to  the  judgment  of  condemna- 
tion, the  "judgment  of  the  great  day,"  mentioned  by 
Jude,  unto  which  the  angels  that  kept  not  their  first 
estate,  but  left  their  own  habitation,  are  reserved.  It 
does  not  warrant  the  assumption  that  God  will  make 
over  to  his  saints  the  government  of  his  angels.  Ano- 
ther ground  for  this  supposed  exaltation  over  the  hea- 
venly host  is  alleged  by  some  to  be  the  closer  proxi- 
mity of  the  saints  to  the  throne,  as  seen  by  John, 
where  the  angels  are  described  as  forming  the  outer- 
most circle,  (Rev.  v.  11,)  but  surely  this  does  not  ar- 
gue anything.  The  officials  who  guard  the  king's 
palace  are  often  of  much  higher  rank  than  those  ad- 
mitted to  the  presence-chamber.  Our  Lord  has  dis- 
tinctly said  of  his  glorified  saints,  "  They  are  equal  un- 
to the  angels,  and  are  the  children  of  God,  being  the 
children  of  the  resurrection."  Luke  xx.  36.  With 
the  prospect  of  such  glorious  equality,  well  may  the 
24 


278  OF   THE    HOLY   ANGELS'. 

sinful  worms  of  earth  rest  thankfully  contented.  The 
angels  are  ministering  spirits  ;  and  their  Master  and 
ours  came  also  "  to  minister."  It  is  well  to  note  these 
things  :  men  are  apt  to  adopt,  without  sufficient  con- 
sideration, the  notions  of  those  who  have  perhaps  bor- 
rowed from  preceding  writers,  and  amongst  them 
framed  systems  in  which  the  plain  word  of  Scripture 
is  less  prominent  than  are  their  own  glosses  upon  it. 

But  whatever  discoveries  are  reserved  for  the  period 
when  we  shall  know  even  as  we  are  known,  the  pre- 
sent is  a  time  to  make  use  of  what  God  has  distinctly 
declared  to  us.  We  are  in  the  world ;  in  that  field 
where  the  devil  is  now  plentifully  sowing,  and  care- 
fully fostering  his  tares,  for  the  twofold  purpose  of  di- 
minishing the  Lord's  harvest,  and  heaping  up  fuel  for 
the  unquenchable  flames,  in  which  the  only  solace  of 
his  own  torments  will  be  the  sight  of  myriads  suffer- 
ing with  him.  His  great  seed-time  is  while  men 
sleep :  they  will  awake  but  to  find  the  strong  hands 
of  God's  angels  binding  the  weeds  for  their  final 
doom.  This  is  a  solemn  thought  for  those  who  are 
appointed  to  watch  the  field  ;  for  kings,  and  persons 
in  authority;  for  bishops,  and  ministers  of  religion  ; 
for  parents,  and  the  heads  of  every  household ;  for 
all,  in  fact,  to  whom  is  committed  the  oversight  of  any 
fellow-creature.  When  they  slumber  at  their  posts, 
the  enemy  steals  along,  and  injures  their  master's  pro- 
perty, for  which  they  must  give  account  to  him. 

Another  point  where  Satan  must  be  met  and  resist- 
ed is  chiefly  personal ;  each  individual  must  look  to 
himself.     The  seed  of  the  word  being  sown  by  the 


ANGELIC    TRIUMPH.  279 

great  Husbandman,  the  devil  is  sure  to  come  and  en- 
deavour to  take  it  away,  ere  it  can  sink  and  be  rooted 
in  their  hearts.  He  knows  how  needful  is  prayer, 
with  meditation,  to  render  effectual  that  precious  seed  ; 
and  by  a  multitude  of  devices,  he  will  seek  to  divert 
the  mind  from  such  indispensable  exercise.  In  this 
quarter  the  angels  cannot  oppose  him  ;  they  are  not 
authorized  to  interfere,  nor  permitted  to  bear  a  part 
in  the  mighty  work  of  man's  regeneration,  conversion, 
sanctification  :  there  God  alone  operates.  Jesus  is 
the  author  and  the  finisher,  and  only  on  him  can  the 
soul  lean  for  help  against  the  mighty.  The  wisest 
and  most  faithful  of  God's  servants  cannot  always  dis- 
cern a  blade  of  wheat  from  a  tare :  they  are  told  both 
must  grow  together  until  the  harvest ;  lest  in  attempt- 
ing to  root  out  the  weeds  they  pull  up  the  good  plants 
also  ;  the  reapers,  with  whom  is  discernment  for  the 
task,  will  come  forth  at  the  appointed  time,  and  effect 
the  separation,  but  though  they  can  gather  in  the 
whole  harvest  without  letting  fall  a  single  ripe  grain, 
still  they  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  seed-time,  or 
with  the  secret  growth  of  the  plant.  They  cannot 
hinder  the  choking  of  the  word  by  worldly  cares  and 
pleasures ;  they  cannot  cause  that  to  take  root  which 
falls  where  no  depth  of  spiritual  susceptibility  exists  ; 
they  cannot  wrest  from  Satan's  grasp  what  he  has 
snatched  away  from  the  heedless  hearer ;  nor  can 
they  impart  fertility  to  the  heart  of  man,  that  it 
should  so  receive  and  retain  as  to  bring  forth  fruit. 
So  wonderfully  has  our  gracious  Lord  guarded  this 
and  every  other  doctrine  from  abuse,  that  no  humble, 


280  OF    THE    HOLY    ANGELS*. 

believing  hearer  need  fear  for  a  moment  to  be  led 
into  error  by  conceding  to  the  subject  of  these  imper- 
fect pages  that  prominence  to  which  it  is  entitled,  as 
occupying  a  very  important  place  in  the  revelations 
of  God. 

We  sometimes  have  the  counsel  gravely  given  to 
leave  these  things  to  learned  men  as  being  too  high 
for  simple  minds.  The  seventy  disciples  whom  our 
Lord  sent  forth,  we  are  told,  returned  to  him  with 
joy,  because  even  the  very  devils  were  subject  unto 
them  through  his  name.  They  were  simple,  unlearn- 
ed  people,  who,  fully  believing  all  that  he  had  said, 
instead  of  setting  down  to  hold  a  learned  disquisition 
on  the  nature  of  evil  spirits,  went  and  acted  upon  what 
he  told  them,  commanding  the  devils  in  his  name. 
He  answers  their  glad  communication  by  telling  them 
that  he  beheld  Satan  as  lightning  fall  from  heaven  ; 
he  invested  them  with  unlimited  control  over  "  all  the 
power  of  the  enemy,"  and,  after  cautioning  them  not 
to  rejoice  so  much  in  this  supernatural  gift  as  in  the 
knowledge  that  their  own  names  were  written  in  hea- 
ven, "  In  that  hour  Jesus  rejoiced  in  spirit,  and  said, 
I  thank  thee,  O  Father,  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth, 
that  thou  hast  hid  these  things  from  the  wise  and  pru- 
dent, and  hast  revealed  them  unto  babes :  even  so,  Fa- 
ther;  for  so  it  seemed  good  in  thy  sight."  Luke  x.  91. 
With  this  encouragement  before  us,  with  a  perfect 
consciousness  of  being  a  mere  babe  in  worldly  wisdom 
and  worldly  prudence,  and  simply  believing  that  eve- 
ry word  spoken  of  God  is  true,  we  have  fulfilled  our 
task  ;  may  it  be  as  profitable  to  the  soul  of  the  reader, 


ANGELIC    TRIUMPH.  281 

as  the  writer  feels  it  has  been  to  her  own,  while  with 
the  Bible,  and  nothing  but  the  Bible,  to  guide  her,  she 
has  endeavoured  to  trace  the  outlines  of  what  can 
never  be  perfectly  filled  up,  until  the  veil  of  mortality 
is  withdrawn,  which  now  withholds  our  eyes  from  con- 
templating in  all  its  wondrous  details,  the  mysterious 
world  of  spirits. 


24* 


CONCLUSION. 


"  Deliver  us  from  the  evil  one,"  is  the  prayer  which 
our  Lord  has  instructed  us  to  put  up ;  and  it  is  much 
to  be  regretted,  that  we  are  accustomed  to  use  a  dif- 
ferent form  of  expression,  calculated  to  withdraw  our 
attention  from  the  great  personal  adversary,  and  to 
present  to  our  minds  a  vague  notion  of  evil  in  general. 
Whatever  isolates  man,  separating  between  him  and 
the  rest  of  God's  creation,  is  inimical  to  his  best  in- 
terests. He  looks  on  the  inferior  animals,  and  forget- 
ting in  how  many  respects  their  natural  sensibilities 
resemble  his  own,  he  becomes  their  cruel  oppressor. 
He  dooms  them  to  protracted  hunger  and  thirst ;  he 
overworks  them,  until  every  sinew  of  their  exhausted 
frames  is  wrung  by  the  anguish  of  intolerable  fatigue  ; 
he  breaks  the  endearing  ties  by  which  the  Lord  of  all 
has  seen  good  to  sweeten  their  humble  existence  ;  and 
standing  on  a  haughty  eminence  of  superior  intellect 
and  conscious  immortality,  he  degrades  some  of  the 
most  marvelous  of  God's  works,  using  them  as  mere 
tools  for  the  supply  of  his  artificial  wants,  the  gratifi- 
cation of  his  avaricious  propensities  ;  until  the  whole 


"WATCH."  283 

creation,  groaning  and  travailing  in  pain  together,  sends 
up  a  fearful  cry  into  the  ears  of  Him  who  from  the  glo- 
rious high  throne  of  his  eternal  Majesty  stoops  to  feed 
the  young  ravens  that  call  upon  him.  Man  was  placed 
in  dominion  over  the  beasts  of  the  field  and  the  fowls 
of  the  air,  that  he  might  exercise  a  becoming  vicege- 
rency,  brethren  as  they  all  are  of  the  dust  out  of  which 
his  own  body  is  so  curiously  formed;  but  Satan  fills 
his  mind  with  pride  and  hardens  his  heart  against  the 
pleadings  of  natural  feeling  on  behalf  of  those  who 
have  no  voice  to  utter  in  their  own  cause  ;  and  so,  man, 
standing  superciliously  aloof  from  the  creatures  that 
his  sin  has  subjected  to  vanity,  works  the  work  of  de- 
vils in  conniving  at,  if  not  wantonly  inflicting,  needless 
torments  upon  them. 

Again,  as  below,  so  above  his  own  scale  of  being 
there  are  races  with  which  he  is  nearly  affianced :  not 
corporeally  as  here,  but  spiritually.  These  he  cannot 
see,  therefore  he  resolves  to  banish  their  existence  from 
his  thoughts.  He  is  aware  that  of  such  superior  crea- 
tures one  class  is  ever  about  him  for  good,  the  other  for 
evil ;  but  what  little  he  may  have  incidentally  gathered 
on  that  subject  he  heeds  not :  and  as  to  inquiry,  he  con- 
siders it  a  worthier  employment  to  explode  the  depths 
of  the  earth  for  the  fossil  remains  of  some  extinct  spe- 
cies of  animals,  which  had  he  met  with  it  alive  he 
would  probably  have  hunted  to  death  for  his  barbarous 
sport,  than  to  seek  a  clearer  knowledge  of  those  beings 
among  whom  he  must,  assuredly  and  inevitably,  dwell 
to  eternity.  Such  insolation,  we  repeat,  is  most  inju- 
rious to  man:  God  never  intended  it  for  him.     The 


284  CONCLUSION. 

record  of  creation,  the  repeated  injunctions  to  mercy, 
and  the  beautiful  provision  made  for  its  exercise  under 
the  glorious  code  of  Israel's  law,  all  declare  on  the  one 
hand,  as  do  on  the  other  the  many  revelations  given 
of  angelic  ministry  and  of  Satanic  malice,  that  man  is 
not  authorized  to  lose  sight  of  his  actual  position  as  a 
link  in  the  chain  of  created  being. 

"  Watch  and  pray,  that  ye  enter  not  into  temptation," 
said  our  blessed  Lord.  Against  what  were  they  to 
watch  ?  He  had  apprized  them  long  before,  when  he 
had  taught  them  to  pray,  "  Lead  us  not  into  tempta. 
tion,  but  deliver  us  from  the  evil  one,"  and  had  also 
put  into  their  mouths  a  plea  for  being  thus  guarded, 
thus  delivered :  "  for  thine  is  the  kingdom,  and  the 
power,  and  the  glory,  forever."  The  evil  one  seeks 
to  usurp  God's  kingdom  within  us,  to  stir  us  up  in  re- 
sistance to  His  power,  and  by  our  rebellion,  our  un- 
grateful, unblushing  scorn  of  His  pure  law,  to  tarnish 
the  glory  that  rests  upon  His  Church.  We  pray  that 
Satan  may  not  succeed  in  so  seducing  us  into  the  rob- 
bery of  God  ;  we  pray  to  be  delivered  from  his  wiles  ; 
and  our  prayer  is  accepted,  if  it  be  ofFered  up  in  sin- 
cerity, the  heart  accompanying  the  lips,  and  with  a  wil- 
lingness on  our  part  to  watch  against  the  approach  of 
that  from  which  we  have  prayed  to  be  preserved. 

When  the  Christian,  in  pursuit  of  his  lawful  calling, 
finds  himself  entering  those  ways  where  t lie  ungodly 
take  council,  and  sinners  walk,  and  scorners  fix  their 
seat,  he  knows  that  he  must  watch,  and  feels  that  ho 
must  pray.  Temptation  will  surely  then  assail  him; 
the  lust  of  the  flesh,  the  lust  of  the  eye,  and  the  pride 


"WATCH."  285 

of  life,  will  each  find  its  suitable  incitement  prepared : 
the  fear  of  man  will  bring  one  snare,  the  love  of  man 
another  ;  and  he  has  no  difficulty  in  realizing  the  pre- 
siding presence  of  Satan  and  his  angels  in  the  haunts 
of  mammon  or  among  the  splendours  of  earthly  pomp, 
or  where  contending  parties  strive  for  mastery  in  the 
field  of  worldly  distinction.  He  does  not  love  such 
scenes,  but  duty  calls  him  into  them,  and  he  goes  soft- 
ly, humbled  in  spirit,  wary  in  mind,  taking  heed  lest, 
amid  the  abundance  of  stumbling-blocks,  he  should 
fall.  Thus  the  six  days  of  labour  pass,  and  how  joy- 
ful is  the  Sabbath  dawn  releasing  him  from  such  ne- 
cessary exposure  to  temptation.  He  thinks,  perhaps, 
with  a  sigh  of  compassionate  sorrow  of  those  who,  turn- 
ing the  grace  of  God  into  licentiousness,  will  certainly 
keep  a  Sabbath  to  Satan,  and  use  the  day  of  release 
from  worldly  business  as  an  especial  opportunity  for 
sinning  greedily  in  other  ways  than  those  of  covetous- 
ness  and  strife  ;  but  he  goes  himself  to  the  house  of 
prayer,  under  a  delightful  conviction  that  in  seeking 
the  sanctuary  of  God  he  flies  from  the  presence  of  all 
his  foes. 

And  so  he  does  ;  but  alas  !  God  has  as  yet  no  sanc- 
tuary on  earth  into  which  those  foes  cannot  enter. 
There  is  nothing  in  consecrated  walls  to  repel  them  ; 
nor  is  the  most  devotional  frame  of  mind  that  man  can 
bring  himself  into,  a  safeguard  against  their  near  ap- 
proach. Rather  does  our  conscientiousness  of  being 
on  hallowed  ground,  and  its  attendant  feeling  of  secu- 
rity, encourage  the  wily  foe  to  do  his  boldest  and  his 


286  CONCLUSION. 

worst,  where  two  or  three  are  gathered  together,  with 
Christ  Himself  in  the  midst,  there  stands  Satan,  or  some 
trusty  emissary  of  his,  at  their  right  hand,  to  resist 
them.  We  are  not  left  to  conjecture  whether  it  be  so 
or  not ;  our  Lord  distinctly  expresses  it,  when  explain- 
ing the  parable  of  the  sower  :  "Then  cometh  the  devil, 
and  taketh  away  the  word  out  of  their  hearts,  lest  they 
should  believe  and  be  saved."  Matt.  viii.  12.  This, 
indeed,  refers  to  a  case  where  no  true  faith  exists  ;  but 
it  proves  that  when  the  word  is  preached,  Satan  is  at 
hand  to  render  it  of  no  effect ;  and  where  is  the  Chris- 
tian who  has  never  realized  the  presence,  even  in  the 
hour  of  real  communion  with  God,  #f  something  over 
which  he  has  had  to  mourn  as  being  sadly  opposed  to 
that  perfect  spirituality  of  mind,  that  joy  and  peace  in 
believing,  which  he  knows  he  ought  to  attain  unto  ? 

We  do  not  rightly  estimate  the  enormous  power  of 
the  enemy  at  those  times  and  in  those  places  where  he 
may  be  considered  as  suffering  an  effectual  check.  A 
man  may  know  "the  plague  of  his  own  heart,"  but  he 
will  gain  very  little  in  his  efforts  to  subdue  it,  if  he 
thinks  he  has  that  alone  to  strive  against.  It  is  the 
Devil  whom  we  are  told  to  resist;  and  if  half  the 
prayers  that  we  put  up  against  the  evil  of  our  nature, 
were  directed  against  him,  personally  and  by  name, 
we  should  soon  experience  a  relief  that  is  now  more 
hardly  and  more  partially  obtained.  Enquiry  into  the 
character  and  extent  of  Satanic  power,  however  suc- 
cessful, is  nothing  without  a  vigorous  application  of 
the  knowledge  gained  to  our  individual  case:  it  is  to 


"  WATCH."  287 

reconnoiter  an  enemy  whom  we  do  not  intend  to  fight ; 
and  who  laughs  at  the  pointing  of  our  telescopes,  if  not 
followed  up  by  the  pointing  of  our  guns. 

There  are  some  who  will  be  constrained  to  acknow- 
ledge, that  the  surest  signal  for  distress  and  annoyance 
in  every  shape  is  the  attempt  to  commence  or  to  prose- 
cute some  really  good  work ;  that  so  long  as  they  give 
their  attention  to  comparative  trifles,  or  occupy  them- 
selves in  a  way  productive  of  no  particular  advantage, 
in  spiritual  things,  to  themselves  or  others,  they  go  on 
with  tolerable  ease  and  comfort :  but  let  them  attempt 
an  aggressive  movement  on  the  Lord's  side,  and  every 
thing  is  against  them.  There  is  no  hinderance  so  great 
or  so  trivial,  from  the  fracture  of  a  limb  to  the  mislay- 
ing or  soiling  of  a  sheet  of  paper,  but  it  crosses  their 
path ;  no  suggestion,  from  that  which  leads  to  most  sin- 
ful anger,  or  rebellious  murmuring,  or  dishonouring 
doubt  of  God's  faithfulness,  down  to  the  silliest  fancy 
that  can  attract  the  moment's  thought,  but  it  will  come 
in  their  way.  Persons,  whose  habits  are  the  most  stu- 
dious, and  whose  thoughts  need  to  be  more  especially 
abstracted  from  the  passing  events  of  the  hour,  will  find 
in  domestic  confusion,  the  ailments  of  a  family,  the  per- 
verseness  of  servants,  and  the  unreasonable  encroach- 
ments of  friends,  sufficient  to  render  their  progress  all 
but  impossible ;  and  perhaps  in  the  midst  of  such  op- 
position as  it  seems  bootless  to  contend  against,  they 
are  conscious  of  a  tendency  within  toward  that  impious 
murmur,  "  It  is  vain  to  serve  God." 

In  such  a  case,  we  pray  for  patience ;  it  is  well,  for 
"Ye  have  need  of  patience."     We  ask  more  faith :  it 


288  CONCLUSION. 

is  better  still,  for  "  All  things  are  possible  to  him  that 
believeth."  We  resolve  to  persevere  through  every 
obstruction  that  can  encumber  our  path ;  and  that  is 
also  meet  and  right,  and  our  bounden  duty,  "  for  in 
due  season  we  shall  reap,  if  we  faint  not."  But  what 
a  relief  should  we  often  experience,  what  freedom  in 
our  onward  course,  by  one  fervent,  believing,  under- 
standing aspiration  in  these  appointed  words,  "  Deliver 
us  from  the  evil  one  !" 

One  of  the  important  uses  of  watchfulness  combined 
with  prayer,  is  to  ascertain  what  form  of  supplication 
is  most  acceptable  before  the  Lord.  Now,  Satan  is 
the  personal  enemy  of  Christ  in  a  sense,  and  to  an  ex- 
tent that  can  be  applied  to  no  other.  He  is  at  once 
the  originator,  the  director,  and  the  leader  of  every 
species  of  rebellion  in  heaven  and  earth.  When  the 
Son  of  God  took  our  nature  upon  him,  and  became  in 
fashion  as  a  man,  Satan  opposed  him  to  his  face,  tempted, 
insulted,  and  finally  used  to  the  utmost  his  permitted 
power,  instigating  the  treachery  of  Judas,  the  malig- 
nity of  the  Jews,  and  the  cruelty  of  the  Romans ; 
throughout  the  whole  narrative  of  our  Lord's  suffering 
sojourn,  we  trace  this  accursed  spirit,  not  only  in  his 
deeds,  but  by  name :  and  surely  it  behooves  us  to  re- 
member all  this,  and  to  put  honour  upon  Him  who 
came  to  destroy  the  works  of  the  devil,  by  continually 
seeking  his  all-sufficient  help  against  the  conquered, 
but  still  mighty  and  dangerous  adversary. 

It  is  when  we  would  draw  nigh  to  God,  with  an  ear- 
nest appeal  against  Satan,  or  persuade  others  so  to  do, 
that  we  find  ourselves  most  furiously  resisted  in  the 


"WATCH."  289 

outset,  most  truly  set  at  liberty  in  the  end.  It  is  when 
we  resolve  to  fight  neither  with  small  or  great,  but 
only  against  him  who  is  the  king  of  the  infernal  hosts, 
that  he  will  be  discomfited,  and  his  legions  thrown  into 
confusion.  Not  that  evil  in  every  shape  ought  not  to 
be  most  steadfastly  resisted,  but  he  who  is  pointed  out 
to  us  by  that  significant  appellation,  "  Your  adversary, 
the  devil,"  is  surely  to  be  singled  from  the  throng  of 
which  he  is  the  head,  and  who  all  act  in  subordination 
to  him. 

All  God's  people  undergo  temptation,  though  not  at 
all  times,  yet  so  very  frequently,  and  in  so  many  dif- 
ferent forms,  that  the  presence  of  an  evil  influence 
must  be  almost  continual,  and  the  power  of  suggesting 
sinful  or  foolish  imaginations  must  be  widely  possessed 
and  exercised  among  the  tempters.  The  mind  has  an 
eye,  and  before  that  eye  pictures  are  held,  sometimes 
consisting  even  of  the  most  ordinary  concerns  of  daily 
life,  accompanied  with  suggestions  of  an  anxious,  an 
irritating,  a  covetous,  or  other  evil  character,  while 
the  Christian  is  earnestly  labouring  after  a  composed 
spirit,  and  a  collected  mind  for  the  service  of  the  sanc- 
tuary. Whatever  may  be  his  usual  occupations,  his 
favourite  studies,  his  prevailing  wishes,  these  are  so 
made  use  of  as  to  oppose  a  bar  between  him  and 
the  simply  devotional  frame  after  which  he  longs,  often 
intermixed  with  distressing  doubts,  vain  speculations, 
and  presumptuous  reasonings,  connected  with  the  very 
duty  that  he  is  engaged  in.  What  a  terrible  display 
should  we  behold  if  the  mist  were  suddenly  dispelled, 
anr:  our  eyes  opened  to  discern  these  devils  at  their 


290  CONCLUSION. 

work  in  the  midst  of  a  congregation,  who  probably  con- 
sider themselves  safely  housed  from  any  such  intru- 
ders, and  are  therefore  deficient  in  watchfulness  against 
them !  One,  perchance,  is  in  the  pew,  suggesting  to 
the  hearer  disparaging  thoughts  of  the  minister,  telling 
him  that  such  a  style  of  preaching  is  not  calculated  to 
profit  him,  and  that  he  should  seek  elsewhere  an  in- 
structer  better  suited  to  his  case  ;  while  another  in  the 
pulpit  whispers  to  the  preacher  that  he  is  not  in  his 
proper  sphere ;  he  has  reaped  too  little  fruit  of  his  la- 
bour there  to  have  any  warrant  for  thinking  it  his  des- 
tined post  of  usefulness,  and  thus  the  tie  on  both  sides 
is  weakened,  and  the  enemy  snatches  away,  even  from 
the  renewed  heart,  many  a  precious  grain  of  gospel 
seed,  calculated  to  increase  sixty  or  a  hundred  fold,  if 
rightfully  received  and  prayerfully  retained.  And 
thus  he  breaks  many  a  tie  that  would  prove  a  mutual 
blessing ;  inducing  a  wavering  mind  and  restless  hab- 
its, often  leading  the  humble,  zealous  pastor  eventually 
into  some  snare  of  popularity,  some  sphere  where  per- 
sonal vanity  is  gratified  at  the  expense  of  spiritual 
mindedness ;  and  he  who  began  by  desiring  to  know 
nothing  but  Jesus  Christ  and  him  crucified,  ends  by 
preaching  himself,  and  not  Christ  Jesus. 

"  Watch:"  for  wherever  God  has  given  a  command 
or  recorded  a  warning,  there  will  Satan  be  at  work. 
The  first  waking  thought  is  often  at  his  suggesting, 
"A  little  more  slumber,  a  little  more  sleep:  a  little 
more  folding  of  the  hands  to  sleep."  Prov.  vi.  10.  The 
temptation  succeeds ;  and  at  an  hour  too  late  for  the 
due  regulation  of  the  day's  employment,  the  man  rises, 


"watch."  291 

dissatisfied  with  himself.  The  next  step  is  to  make 
this  loss  of  time  a  plea  for  curtailing  the  seasons  of 
private  prayer,  or  a  means  of  distracting  the  thoughts 
while  in  the  act  of  supplication  :  nor  can  the  loss  of 
the  morning  hour  «so  wasted  be  retrieved  during  the 
day.  In  some  characters,  this  leads  to  irritability  of 
temper ;  and  too  well  can  the  invisible  enemies,  who 
are  busily  employed  in  following  up  the  first  advantage, 
use  a  word  of  unjust  harshness  to  the  detriment  of 
many  souls.  In  others,  it  induces  despondency,  idle- 
ness,  or  such  a  dispersion  of  thoughts  as  renders  the 
day  well  nigh  blank.  It  would  be  endless  to  follow 
out  the  customary  plans  of  those  against  whom  we  must 
watch  and  pray ;  the  sure  way  to  do  so  effectually  is 
to  bear  in  mind,  that  the  Bible  is  Satan's  directory, 
since  it  shows  what  God  would  have  his  servants  to  do 
and  to  be ;  and  to  lead  them  into  paths  directly  con- 
trary  to  that  revealed  will,  so  that  they  may  grieve  the 
Holy  Spirit,  and  provoke  the  Lord  to  leave  them  to 
themselves,— which  is,  indeed,  to  leave  them  to 
Satan, — is  the  main  object  of  the  malignant  adver- 
sary. 

It  is  not  now  with  the  Church  as  of  old,  when  men 
might  also  watch  for  the  visible  ministry  of  angels,  as 
at  the  pool  of  Bethesda,  "  where  an  angel  went  down 
at  a  certain  season  into  the  pool,  and  troubled  the  wa- 
ter: whosoever  then  first  after  the  troubling  of  the  wa- 
ter stepped  in,  was  made  whole  of  whatsoever  disease 
he  had."  John  v.  4.  Whatever  deeds  of  mercy  these 
ministering  spirits  may  be  commissioned  to  perform, 
they  are  hidden  from  our  eyes ;  but  this  we  know,  that 


292  CONCLUSION. 

daily,  hourly  proofs  of  our  heavenly  Father's  care  over 
his  poor  children  are  afforded  to  every  one  of  us ;  and 
to  watch  them  is  a  delightful  occupation  no  less  than  a 
duty.  How  can  we  give  thanks  even  for  the  small  pro- 
portion of  these  mercies  that  come  under  our  immediate 
sight,  unless  we  watch  for,  and  note  them  1  We  may 
be  assured  that  there  never  is  a  moment  when  Satan, 
succeeding  as  he  so  frequently  does,  in  drawing  us  off 
from  the  straight  path  of  holy  obedience  into  some  sin- 
ful compliance,  some  unholy  word,  or  evil  thought, 
would  not  gladly  cut  short  at  that  instant  of  time  our 
mortal  life,  in  the  hope  of  gathering  our  souls  with  the 
ungodly.  Our  preservation  in  being  is  an  amazing 
miracle :  dangers  surround  us  on  every  side ;  the  food 
we  eat,  the  air  we  breathe,  is  pregnant  with  death. 
Some  deliverances  are  so  very  marked  and  conspicu- 
ous, that  we  are  forced  to  see  and  to  record  them  :  but 
inconceivably  greater  are  those  which  are  warded 
off  by  invisible  agency.  Surely,  it  becomes  us  to 
observe  these  things,  and  audibly  to  acknowledge 
them. 

In  the  service  of  our  Church  we  arc  taught  to  unite 
in  a  form  of  open  confession  of  sin;  and  if  we  could 
call  to  mind  in  how  many  instances  the  devil  has  pre- 
vailed to  tempt  us  into  evil  during  the  past  week,  how 
often  we  have  swerved  from  the  right  path,  and  M  erred 
and  strayed  from  God's  ways  like  lost  sheep,"  surely 
we  should  desire  to  make  our  deep  contrition  known  in 
the  presence,  not  only  of  the  Lord  our  God,  but  also  of 
his  enemies  who  have  thus  drawn  us  into  rebellion, 
and  of  the  holy  angels  who  have  witnessed  alike  our 


"WATCH."  293 

presumptuous  transgression  and  his  sparing  mercy. 
There  is  nothing  in  this  approaching  to  the  blasphemous 
tenets  of  Rome,  by  which  the  angels  are  so  brought 
forward  as  to  entrench  upon  the  prerogatives,  to  usurp, 
as  it  were,  the  attributes  of  the  Most  High.  It  is  not 
to  be  for  a  moment  supposed  that  they  can  read  our 
thoughts,  or  know  more  of  our  secret  characters  than 
the  Lord  may  see  good  to  reveal  to  them,  as  he  repre- 
sents himself  to  do  in  the  parables  of  the  sheep  and  the 
piece  of  money  ;  where  friends  and  neighbours  are 
summoned  first  to  hear  of  the  recovery  of  what  was 
lost,  and  then  to  rejoice  that  it  is  found.  "  Likewise" 
continues  our  Lord,  "  I  say  unto  you,  there  is  joy  in 
the  presence  of  the  angels  of  God,  over  one  sinner  that 
repenteth."  Luke  xv.  10.  But  those  among  the  min- 
istering spirits  who  are  especially  placed  about  our- 
selves, as  we  know  them  to  be,  certainly  are  at  least  as 
well  aware  of  our  words  and  actions  as  any  fellow 
mortal.  Our  open  sins  are  committed  in  their  pres- 
ence ;  but  if  they  know  no  more  of  our  contrite  sor- 
row than  usually  appears  in  the  aspect  of  a  congre- 
gation when  whispering  their  confession  of  those 
sins  to  God  in  public  worship,  marvelous  indeed 
must  it  be  in  their  sight  that  he  should  so  harden  our 
faces ! 

In  like  manner,  our  public  thanksgiving — how  cold 
a  return  must  we  feel  it  to  be,  even  when  our  hearts 
are  warmest,  could  we  but  fairly  estimate  the  amount 
of  loving-kindness  expended  upon  us  during  the  lapse 
of  the  few  days  since  our  last  assembling  together 
25* 


294  CONCLUSION. 

"  to  render  thanks  for  the  great  benefits  that  we  have 
received  at  his  hands."  We  are  the  only  oblivious 
parties :  the  devils  do  not  forget  how  often  they  have 
been  repulsed,  and  their  best  laid  plans  baffled  when 
they  thought  to  harm  us  ;  nor  do  the  holy  angels  for- 
get the  errands  of  mercy  on  which  they  have  sped  to 
our  succour,  help  and  comfort.  Strange  must  it  be  to 
them,  when,  laden  as  we  are  with  such  incalculable 
benefits,  and  met  together  to  unite  in  proclaiming  them, 

Hosannas  falter  on  our  tongues, 
And  our  devotion  dies. 

Yet  what  are  these  interpositions  of  Providence  in 
guarding  our  daily  path  compared  with  the  interposi- 
tion of  redeeming  Love,  which  snatched  our  souls  out 
of  the  jaws  of  destruction,  translated  us  from  the  pow- 
er of  Satan  to  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  secured  to  us 
an  inheritance  among  the  saints  in  light !  We  utter 
the  name  that  is  above  every  name,  and  angels  rejoice, 
and  devils  shrink.  We  speak  of  the  mystery  of  his 
holy  incarnation,  and  the  song  of  Bethlehem  is  ready 
again  to  burst  forth  from  the  lips  of  the  heavenly  host ; 
we  remind  him  of  his  fasting  and  temptation,  and  they 
whose  infernal  leader  was  vanquished  in  that  awful 
field,  are  ready  again  to  yell  out.  "  We  know  thee  who 
thou  art,  the  Holy  One  of  God."  We  talk,  alas! 
with  what  unmoved  faces  and  feelings !  of  his  agony 
and  bloody  sweat,  his  cross  and  passion,  his  death  and 
burial,  and  they  who  witnessed  the  anguish  endured 
for  us  are  present  to  mark  the  expression  of  self-abase- 


"  WATCH."  295 

ment  and  heart-broken  penitence  of  the  rebels  for  whose 
ransom  the  Lord  of  glory  stooped  so  low.  We  name 
his  resurrection  and  ascension — can  we  name  them 
coldly,  seeing  that  when  He  arose  from  the  dead  He 
led  captivity  captive,  and  received  gifts  for  men,  even 
for  the  rebellious,  even  for  us,  that  God  might  dwell 
among  us?  Surely  it  would  somewhat  quicken  us  at 
least  to  greater  reverence  of  deportment,  greater  ani- 
mation and  devotion,  to  consider  what  witnesses  are 
among  us,  and  to  what  they  have  been  witnesses,  from 
the  creation  of  the  world  to  this  day. 

Yet  it  is  a  small  matter  to  be  judged  of  man's  or  of 
angel's  judgment ;  he  that  judgeth  is  the  Lord.  If 
He  be  for  us,  it  matters  not  who  else  is  for,  or  who  may 
be  against  us.  Angels,  principalities,  powers,  are 
nothing :  we  need  not  to  conciliate  the  favour  of  the 
good,  nor  to  depreciate  the  malice  of  the  evil  legions, 
for  He  whose  we  are,  and  whom  we  serve,  is  King  and 
God  over  all.  He  bids  us  watch  ;  he  tells  us  to  gird 
our  loins  and  to  trim  our  lamps,  not  as  trembling  slaves, 
who  dread  the  approach  of  a  severe  master,  but  as 
honoured  guests,  expecting  the  Bridegroom's  coming, 
that  we  may  rejoicingly  partake  in  the  marriage  fes- 
tivities. His  bride  is  now  a  mourning  widow  ;  he 
calls  her  as  a  woman  forsaken,  and  grieved  in  spirit, 
for  the  enemies  of  her  absent  Lord  have  usurped  his 
dominion,  and  darkened  the  earth  with  heathenism, 
and  polluted  it  with  blood  ;  and  in  the  place  where  she 
should  sit,  2  shameless  harlot  assumes  her  name,  and 
brands  it  with  the  infamy  of  her  own  crimes.     Well 


296  CONCLUSION. 

may  the  Lamb's  wife,  bewailing  the  desolation  of  His 
heritage,  stand  on  her  tower,  and  watch  for  his  coming, 
whose  right  it  is.  Then  shall  ensue  the  universal  re- 
conciliation of  all  that  God  made  to  harmonize  togeth- 
er, and  which  Satan  prevailed  to  disorganize ;  then 
shall  the  tabernacle  of  God  be  with  man,  and  He  will 
dwell  among  us  who  is  the  author,  not  of  confusion, 
but  of  peace.  Then  "  the  kingdom  and  dominion,  and 
the  greatness  of  the  kingdom  under  the  whole  heaven 
shall  be  given  to  the  people  of  the  saints  of  the  Most 
High ;  whose  kingdom  is  an  everlasting  kingdom,  and 
all  dominions  shall  serve  and  obey  him."  Dan.  vii.  27. 
Whatever  sin  has  displaced,  shall  again  fall  sweetly 
into  its  assigned  station :  Man  shall  be  a  merciful,  a 
loving  ruler  over  the  inferior  creatures,  who  in  their 
turns  shall  cease  to  prey,  the  strong  upon  the  weak  ; 
and  he  shall  again  enjoy  unrestrained  communion  with 
those  heavenly  beings  between  whom  and  himself  sin 
nas  placed  a  gulf  that  neither  can  pass,  except  the 
Lord  bridge  it  over  for  them.  When  all  things  that 
offend  and  that  do  iniquity  are  gathered  out,  when  the 
mother  of  harlots  is  hurled  from  her  proud  seat,  where 
she  sits  a  queen,  and  now  boasts  that  she  is  no  widow, 
and  shall  see  no  sorrow,  and  has  received  her  appoint- 
ed portion,  her  plagues  of  death,  and  mourning,  and 
famine,  and  utter  burning  with  fire,  all  coming  upon 
her  in  one  day,  then,  and  not  till  then,  shall  the  night 
watch  of  the  Church  give  place  to  the  glories  of  a  day 
that  knows  no  going  down  of  the  sun. 

That  tliis  time  is  not  now  far  off,  we  have  abundant 


"watch.  297 

proofs  in  the  signs  that  thicken  around  us.  The  peri- 
od  that  remains  is  but  as  an  hour,  and  surely  we  may 
watch  with  the  Lord  that  one  hour.  All  the  malignity 
of  Satan  that  raged  against  our  Master  on  the  fearful 
night  of  Gethsemane  will  now  be  stirred  up  for  a  last 
effort  against  his  Church  :  and  the  trial  will  be  severe, 
the  conflict  terrible,  even  as  the  issue  will  certainly  be 
gloriously  triumphant.  Whatever  glimpses  we  may 
have  caught  of  the  world  of  spirits  in  the  course  of  this 
inquiry,  must  be  turned  to  good  account ;  for  we  shall 
soon  need  to  exercise  judgment  in  the  discerning  of 
spirits.  The  sixth  vial,  under  which  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that  we  now  live,  is  marked  by  the  going  forth 
of  the  three  unclean  devils,  of  whose  miracle-working 
power  we  are  forewarned  ;  and  He  who  has  deigned 
to  show  U9  things  to  come,  has  not  set  forth  cunningly- 
devised  fables  to  amuse  our  fancy,  but  revealed  sol- 
emn truths  to  guide  our  steps  aright,  when  our  path 
becomes  perplexed  beyond  all  that  we  have  known 
hitherto,  or  that  the  experience  of  the  Church  has 
recorded.  He  that  is  born  after  the  flesh  always  per- 
secutes him  that  is  born  after  the  Spirit ;  but  now 
we  shall  have  the  author  of  all  corruption  of  the  flesh 
persecuting  the  Lord  in  His  members ;  and  we  shall 
do  well  to  measure,  so  far  as  we  can,  the  extent  of 
that  power  which  is  coming  against  us,  that  we  may 
not  only  be  the  *better  prepared  to  withstand  in  the 
evil  day,  but  also  the  better  able  to  magnify  the  glo- 
rious might  of  Him,  who,  having  himself  led  the  way,  has 
given  his  poor  followers  a  commission  to  trample  un- 


298  CONCLUSION. 

der  foot  all  the  power  of  the  enemy.  How  needful, 
therefore,  how  precious,  are  the  admonitions  of  Scrip- 
ture ?  "Watch  and  pray."  "Be  ye  also  patient; 
stablish  your  hearts  for  the  coming  of  the  Lord  draw- 
eth  nigh." 


THE   END. 


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FEB  9  5  199S      retd   nov  1 4  wi 


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